A Change of Heart
by Flying Zuccini
Summary: Draco decides that he's done with everything his father stands for, he wants a new life, away from everything he once knew. Voldemort doesn't agree, can Hermione help him fight for the new life that he wants and save him before it is too late?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: ok, so here's my new story! It is not going to be compliant with Half Blood Prince or Deathly Hollows. This is going to be a step-up from Scars of the Black Rose, which I wrote when I was 14. This story will more than likely contain sex, not for a while, but I just thought that I should warn you. **

**Also, anyone who is interested in being a BETA reader, I'm thinking of having one for this story, let me know if you're interested.**

Disclaimer: I generally forget to do this with at least half of my chapters, so I figure I'd better make sure that it's there for the very first chapter at least. I do not own anything Harry Potter. Any characters that you recognize are the property of JK Rowling; I'm just messing with them. Any characters that are new are mine.

Without further adieu:

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_I remember feeling low  
I remember losing hope  
And I remember all the feelings  
And the day they stopped  
We are, we are all innocent_

Draco stared at the hard, cool floor of his bedroom. It was time for a change. This year, his final year, was going to be his time to shine. He wanted something new, something to help him shake off the mold that his father had forced him into for all of these years. He was sick of being the one that everyone hated. He was sick of being the one that those Slytherins all looked up too. He wanted to just be himself. He was through with all of it.

He had just come from one of his father's many dinner parties. Of course Voldemort had been the guest of honour at his event. As he listened to the plans that the Death Eaters were going over, there was only one word running through his head: bullshit. These people had no idea what they had gotten themselves into. They followed Voldemort blindly, they trusted him completely. What none of them seemed to understand was that Voldemort didn't care about any of them, not one bit.

Draco didn't want to be that. He wanted to be himself even if they would kill him for it. He glanced around his room again, realizing that he was going to have to leave all of this. His father would not allow him to live under his roof after he had renounced Voldemort. At first this thought upset him. He didn't want to leave his riches behind, become homeless and helpless.

"Fuck it," he mumbled as he started packing his bags. He wasn't leaving anything behind; everything he needed was outside of the world that he had been living. It was time to discover what his life really could be like.

* * *

Hermione put her books away. It was only the second week into the summer and she had already completed all of the homework that the Professors had assigned. She sighed; she never thought that living on her own would be so boring. Her parents had moved away to the United States and she had decided that she was ready to move out. Harry and Ron had both gone to Australia for the summer. She was supposed to have gone with them, but at the last minute she had decided to move and be on her own for the summer. 

Now she knew that it was a mistake, she never had anything to do. She had read every book that she owned and completely all of the homework. She debated getting a TV, but thought that it would probably bore her too.

Finally she stepped away from the window, there was no point in looking outside, she might as well go outside. As she stepped off of her doorstep she felt a breeze hit her face, immediately she relaxed and headed in the direction of the library.

* * *

Draco waited until midnight before he made his escape. He wanted to make sure that everyone was sleeping, even the house elves and ghosts. He had had his birthday just the week before so he could finally use magic outside of school. Considering that his father broke laws all the time, he had never been very lenient when it came to Draco and underage magic. 

As he levitated his bag out the window he thought about his father and some of his friends. Although they never said it, he could feel that none of them liked him very much. They thought him too much of a rebel. His father hated the muggle music that he listened to and the muggle cigarettes that he smoked. Draco smiled at the thought of never being under the control of his father or anyone else ever again.

He picked up his broomstick and flew silently out the window. It took him only a few moments to magically lighten the weight of his luggage and attach to the handle and then he was off into the night.

First he flew to Gringotts to clear his bank account out, he knew his father would have taken care of that the second he had realized that he was gone

* * *

Hermione spent a few hours at the library and it was dark by the time she left. She knew that she should go home and go to bed, but she wasn't the slightest bit tired. As she walked down the street she noticed a small wizard pub on the corner and decided to go in for a drink. She wasn't old enough to drink in the muggle world but in the wizard world she had been of age for almost a year. 

She sat down at the bar and ordered a Flaming Wand, a purple drink that contained a lot of vodka and a little bit of magic. Hours later she left the bar. As she walked she knew she should have left about two hours earlier and had about three less drinks.

She heard a chuckle as she put her hand on the wall to keep her balance. She looked in front of her but all she could see was the burning tip of a cigarette.

"Wh-Who's there?" she called.

"Well if it isn't Hermione Granger, piss-drunk walking home at two in the morning," another chuckle followed.

"Who are you?" Hermione squinted towards the figure. "Malfoy?"

"The one and only, what are you trying to do Granger, push the wall over with you?" Draco stepped towards her as she almost fell over.

"No, I'm just trying to walk home," she said with a hint of huffiness in her voice.

"Let me walk you home," Draco sighed.

Hermione knew that she should be running away. But as Draco slid his arm through hers all she felt was thankful that there was someone there to help her.

* * *

Draco wasn't really sure why he was helping Granger get home. At first he had simply thought that it was funny to see perfect Hermione Granger staggering down the street. But then he realized that if he hadn't shown up, she wouldn't have made it home. 

"Ugh, why did I move into an apartment with so many stairs," Hermione groaned when they reached the doorstep.

Draco glanced at the stairs, "I'll walk you up."

"No, no it's alright I'll be fine from here," she protested.

"I don't think so, I didn't walk you all the way home just to watch you fall down five flights of stairs."

Draco helped Hermione walk up the stairs, it was a struggle but she made it.

"Do you have any Invigoration Draught?" Draco asked her when they finally got to her apartment door.

"No, and I don't think I'm in a proper state to make any either," Hermione sighed, unlocking the door.

"Come on, I'll help." Draco said, following her into the apartment.

Hermione didn't say anything; she just went and sat down on the couch. Draco locked the door behind him. He surveyed the room that he was in. It was sparsely furnished, as if she had just moved in. There was a couch and a coffee table. The walls were white and contained no pictures, the windows had no curtains. He looked back at Hermione only to find that she had fallen asleep on the couch.

He sighed and walked into the kitchen. Any normal witch would have potion ingredients in her cupboards. He began to tick off the ingredients that he needed in his head: peppermint, nettles, moonstone powder, ginger and hellebore. Hermione had all of them. Hermione didn't have a cauldron in the kitchen so he decided to use a large pot that he found under the sink.

He looked around the kitchen again. He didn't think she would appreciate it if he lit a fire in her kitchen, so he was going to have to figure out how to use the oven. Fifteen minutes later, Draco had tried all of the knobs and burnt himself three times, but he now had the pot of water boiling on the stovetop. He began to add the ingredients thinking silently to himself.

Yesterday afternoon the last place he would have thought to be was here. Who would have thought that he would be nursing Hermione back to health. He laughed as he pictured the look that would appear on his father's face if he only knew. Finally the potion was finished. Draco poured a glass full and walked back into the living room.

He tilted Hermione's head back and poured the liquid into her mouth. For a moment she just lay there. Finally she opened her eyes, sat up and looked around the room.

"Where…What? What the hell are you doing in my apartment?"

* * *

**AN: Ok, so I know the first chapter is short, but I have to go out soon and I really wanted to get the first chapter out before I left.**

**I'm really excited about this new story and I really want to know what people think of it so far. So please, drop me a line and tell me what you think. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Ok, so I noticed that the breaks that I put in between the different POVs didn't show up. You can basically tell where they were supposed to be because the paragraphs always start with that person's name.**

**The characters in this story are a bit OOC for now, but that should change slightly. It's supposed to be sort of like that anyway, after all, it is called A Change of Heart.**

**Thank you to Kirsten for being my very first reviewer. Thanks to perfect-prima-donna for reviewing and letting me know about the typos. And thanks especially to krazed.hypa.ivii who has offered to be my beta reader.**

**Also, if anyone is looking for a beta reader for their own story, I would most likely be interested in doing it, just let me know.**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters so far, they all belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_And maybe you should sleep  
And maybe you just need  
A friend, as clumsy as you've been  
There's no one laughing  
You will be safe in here _

"SLINKY!" Lucius Malfoy bellowed.

"Yes master?" the terrified house elf answered.

"Where the hell is my son?"

"Slinky is not knowing sir, master Malfoy was not in his room when I is being checking on him."

"That little ingrate is going to pay for this," Lucius snarled.

He stormed up the spiraled staircase towards his only son's room. He threw open the door and looked around. The bed was neatly made, but the green curtains fluttered around the open window in front of him. He wrenched open the closet to find it half empty.

"Maybe he is being kidnapped sir?" the house elf whispered.

Lucius thought it over for a moment. No, he had seen the look on the boy's face during the dinner party the night before; he had left on his own accord. Lucius shoved the house elf aside and stormed out of the room, his robes billowing behind him.

* * *

Draco stared at her in shock.

"I just walked you home…made you an Invigoration Draught…ringing any bells?"

"Oh…yes of course," Hermione turned a dark shade of crimson.

"Alright then, so I guess I'll just be going. Wonderful seeing you, have a nice life Granger," Draco said standing up.

"No, no Malfoy wait. What are you _doing_ here?" Hermione asked.

"I really don't think that it's any of your business where I go or what I'm doing."

"Well, where are you going now?"

"Didn't we just go over this? It's none of your business."

"You don't have anywhere to go do you? Otherwise you wouldn't have been wandering the streets alone with a broomstick and a backpack." Hermione said.

"So what if I don't have anywhere to go, I'm clearly not staying here. I think it would be best if I left now to find somewhere to go. And no offense Granger, but after this ordeal, I need a cigarette." Draco had expected her to go into a lecture on how awful smoking was, but she didn't.

"Have one on the balcony; I want to talk to you."

"I really think that I should just leave."

"Stop being so stubborn Malfoy. You helped me home; the least I can do is let you stay here for a bit. I want to pay you back, but I want to make sure that you won't spread around what you saw of me tonight. I do have a reputation to uphold you know."

Draco knew that he should leave. It would put Granger in danger if he stayed. His father would know soon enough what he had done. On the other hand, this was probably the last place that his father would expect him to be.

"I'm not sure why I should care about your reputation. But, seeing as I don't have anywhere to go _at the moment_, I might as well stay for a bit."

"I really would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about this," Hermione said when they were on the balcony.

"That won't be a problem, since I'm not going back," Draco said, blowing out a puff of smoke.

Hermione looked at the smoke disapprovingly. "What do you mean you aren't going back, why not?"

"What do I have to do to get it through your head that my life is none of your business?"

"I'm just curious. Something is obviously going on with you and I want to know what it is. The Draco Malfoy that I know doesn't walk around alone, does not help girls home, and certainly does not make potions for them! I want to know what you're up to and what it has to do with me. If you and your father think that you can somehow get to Harry through me, then you are sadly mistaken!"

"Wow, so this is what it feels like to help people? I should really do it more often, don't you think?" Draco said sarcastically. "First of all, this has nothing to do with you or Potter and certainly nothing to do with my father. And second, Granger, haven't you ever wondered if someone could have a change of heart? A change so great that the people that they knew before wouldn't even recognize them after?"

"So that's what you're up to then? You're trying to change?"

"Is that really so hard to believe?"

"Well yes actually. The Draco Malfoy that I've always known was a cruel, awful person who worshipped the ground that his father walked on. And now you show up here, help me and say that you want nothing to do with your father. If you were in my place, would you believe it?"

"If that's what you think, then why would you allow me into your home and then convince me to stay?"

"Because that's what good people do Draco, they help other people."

* * *

Lucius was pacing his office. The Dark Lord was going to kill him. His son was a traitor, and there was nothing that his master hated more. He was waiting now for Voldemort to arrive. He had contacted him and told him that he had urgent news, but he hadn't specified what.

Narcissa was currently sick with worry for their son, alone in the world. But Lucius knew better. He knew that Draco would be fine in the real world. The only person that he was worried about was himself.

"Lucius," the familiar slimy voice called out.

"My Lord, I didn't hear you come in."

"So, what is this urgent business, I do not have all day you know."

"Well…It's about Draco."

"Well then, has he finally decided to get the Mark?"

"No. Well, I suppose it's the opposite really…He's gone."

* * *

Hermione eyed Draco carefully. Could he really have changed so much? After all, it had only been two weeks since they had been at Hogwarts, and he had been as cruel then as always.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're here, or is it still none of my business?" Hermione asked.

"It's not any of your business," Draco snapped. "But if you must know, I've just simply changed my mind. I changed my mind about following Voldemort and about being under the constant rule of my father. You have no idea what it's like to have something be expected of you your whole life. Everybody wants you to be something and you just want to be yourself."

"I actually do know sort of how you feel. In muggle school, I was the smartest student in my class. When I got my Hogwarts letter, it just gave my parents another reason for me to be something special. My parents expected me to excel at everything that I did, even if I knew nothing about it. I spent the whole summer before I started at Hogwarts studying. I knew that I, as a muggleborn, was unprepared for what would happen at the school. I had this great opportunity; I just couldn't let myself fail."

"Well, it paid off; you're the smartest witch in the school."

"Yes, but it didn't always come naturally. If you want to achieve something, you have to work hard for it and you have to do it for yourself. You can't do something just because somebody else wants you too."

"I think that you may just be smarter than I gave you credit for," Draco said.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks. Come on, you can sleep on my couch for the night."

* * *

When Hermione awoke the next morning she expected Draco to be gone. He had said that he could make the bed up for himself, so she had gotten sheets out and had gone to bed. But, sure enough, he was there in the morning.

She was awake early because of a grey barn owl pecking at her window. She immediately opened the window and let it in. It flew over and dropped two letters on her bed and flew straight back out. They were both addressed in green ink:

_Hermione J. Granger_

_108 Summit Drive_

_Apt. # 7_

_Gryphon's Pit_

_Draco L. Malfoy_

_108 Summit Drive_

_Apt. # 7_

_Gryphon's Pit_

That told her that he was still there indefinitely. The owls never got it wrong. She slipped on her bathrobe and walked silently into the living room. Draco was asleep peacefully on the couch. For some reason, Hermione could not bring herself to wake him. The night before, he had looked as though he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in ages.

Hermione just watched him sleep for a few moments. His hair was longer than the last time she had seen it, and it was no longer slicked back. It was as blond as ever and fell down to the collar of his shirt. Hermione also noticed that he was even more pale than usual; there were blue circles around his eyes. No, she would let him sleep a little longer. His hands had what looked like burns on them

Hermione headed into her small kitchen. There was a pot in the sink, but all other evidence of the night before was gone. She pulled out a frying pan and cracked some eggs into it. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

"Thanks for putting me up for the night Granger. I'll get out of your hair now."

Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. The egg that she had been about to crack fell onto the floor.

"Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Draco said, waving his wand at the broken egg.

"It's fine. Don't leave yet, I'm making breakfast."

Something in the tone of her voice made Draco sit down at the table.

"I almost forgot, our Hogwarts letters came," she said, putting a plate in front of him. She handed Draco his letter and sat down across from him. She was carefully ripping the top of the letter open when she heard Draco choke.

"What? What's wrong?" Hermione asked alarmed.

"I swear that old man gets crazier and crazier. The old coot made me Head Boy," Draco put his letter aside and went back to his breakfast.

"But that's great! Aren't you pleased?"

"Yeah sure, it's really just a title."

"Well, if it was me, I'd be happy."

"What makes you think you haven't been made Head Girl?"

Hermione eagerly tore into her letter. She scanned the papers inside:

_Dear Miss Hermione Granger,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been offered the position of Head Girl at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have proved through the last six years to be an exceptional student. You have received top grades in all of your classes and did very well on your OWLS during your fifth year._

_All the staff agrees that there is no other young lady better suited for this job. We are confident that you will work in this position to the best of your abilities._

_Congratulations,_

_M. McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

"Well, congratulations to you Granger. I guess we'll get to run the school together then." Hermione looked startled for a minute and then smiled.

"I'm sure Dumbledore had his reasons for picking you. You do have top marks."

"I always thought that it would be Potter though. It should be interesting to see the look on his face when he finds out that not only is it not him, but it's me," Draco laughed.

"Maybe Dumbledore realizes that Harry has more to worry about then being Head Boy."

That shut him up

* * *

"What exactly do you mean by gone Lucius?" Voldemort asked.

"When I woke up this morning he was not there and some of his belongings were gone as well."

"So, he's a traitor," the Dark Lord sneered.

"Well, my Lord, I didn't want to jump to conclusions. Perhaps he just needed a break, I'm sure he will turn up sooner or later."

"If you want to remain among the living, it had better be sooner than later."

* * *

Severus Snape paced back and forth in his office. Avery had just contacted him to let him know the news about Draco. In a way, Severus admired the boy. It took guts to leave the life that he had been leading. On the other hand, he was a fool. No one walked away from the Dark Lord and lived.

Severus shook his head and sunk into his desk chair. He knew that he had to help his God Son, but he wasn't sure how to do it. He considered going to Dumbledore, but Draco was his responsibility, this was in his hands. Severus pushed his greasy hair back and reached for a quill.

* * *

Draco and Hermione were just finishing their breakfast when the second owl of the day flew swiftly into the room. It was a sleek black owl. It dropped the letter into Draco's empty plate and left as quick as it had come.

"I know that owl," Draco said pale-faced.

"Whose is it?"

Draco ignored her question as he tore open the letter. He tapped his wand to the parchment and whispered a spell that Hermione didn't recognize. He read it once over, sighed and began to read it aloud.

_Draco,_

_I'm not sure what you were trying to pull by leaving your father's house like that. The news is already out into the group that you have renounced the Dark Lord and gone into hiding. As far as I know, no one knows of your location yet. I hope that this letter finds you safe and well._

_If you truly have left the servitude of Voldemort then you must remain in hiding until your return to Hogwarts. I suggest that you remain wherever you are currently residing until the Dark Lord starts to get to close._

_Best of luck,_

_Severus Snape_

_Ps. well done on making Head Boy_

* * *

**AN: alright, so that's the end of chapter 2. I got a few reviews for the first chapter and a bunch of people who added the story to their alert lists. This chapter hasn't been beta'd, so if anyone notices any mistakes, please let me know so I can patch them up.**

**Please send me a review, let me know what you think, and I'll update as soon as possible.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: so here's the 3rd chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially perfect-prima-donna who pointed out all of my typos again.**

**On another note, I've been going through my old story (Scars of the Black Rose). I've been trying to fix some of the grammar and spelling mistakes (I wrote it when I was 13). The story means a lot to me. Check it out if you want to.**

Disclaimer: I own nobody.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_Oh I feel it comin' back again  
Like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind  
Forces pullin' from the center of the earth again  
I can feel it_

"So Malfoy, now that you're going to be Head Boy, are you going to go back to Hogwarts?" Hermione asked as she put away the breakfast dishes.

"I'm not sure. I have a lot of stuff to think over."

"Well, if you're going to be staying here for a while, I don't really mind. Just make sure that you help around the apartment and try not to piss me off too much," Hermione said with a smile.

"I'm not staying with you Granger," Draco said in frustration. "I have much more interesting places that I could go."

"Yes, but do you have any safer places to go? I honestly don't mind if you stay here, especially if you really are a "changed man". I've been terribly lonely this summer with my parents, Harry and Ron all being away," Hermione didn't really want to spend time with him, but she couldn't just throw him out of the street, and she had been lonely.

"I really _do not_ think it's a good idea. But if you insist, I'll stay a few more days."

"Good, so what do you want to do today?"

* * *

Ginny flopped down on her bed; this was the worst summer ever. Ron and Harry were off in Australia, her other brothers were busy with work and Hermione had her new apartment. It was two weeks into her summer vacation and she had yet to leave the house. She got up and walked into the kitchen where her mum was cooking. She sat down at the table and sighed.

"What's wrong dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just so bored of summer already."

"Why don't you walk down to the lake or go out on your broom?"

"Those things just aren't that fun when you're by yourself."

"I know what might cheer you up. Why don't you send an owl or use that new toy of your father's to call Hermione and see if you can go visit her in her new apartment for a few days?"

* * *

Hermione and Draco decided to take a walk around the town that she lived in and see what it had to offer. She had only been living there for about a week, so she didn't really know what to expect. Although there was a wizard district on the outskirts of town, the area that she lived in was a predominantly muggle neighbourhood. Hermione knew that Draco, with his background, probably knew nothing about the muggle world. She decided to show him around so he could see what muggles did for fun.

"So, where do you want to go?" Hermione asked him when they were outside.

"Why don't we just walk down the street for a little while and I'll let you know if anything strikes my fancy."

So that's what they did. They walked in silence for almost fifteen minutes when Draco finally saw something of interest to him. It was a computer game store. Hermione rolled her eyes. She should have known. What was it with boys and video games anyway? She followed into the store trying to suppress her giggles.

"What is this thing?" Draco said pointing to a computer.

"It's a computer."

"What does it do?" Draco said, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Nothing weird!" Hermione laughed. "You can go onto the internet to play games, or do research and even talk to people on the other side of the world."

"Muggles know how to make stuff that can do all that? I think I need to get myself one of these, just to see how they did it."

"They cost a lot of money Malfoy."

"I have a muggle bank account." Draco said proudly.

* * *

Ginny headed into her father's workshop. She had never used a telephone before, but she didn't think it could be that hard. She knew that using the phone would be faster than waiting for an owl to go all the way to Hermione's and back. She searched the list of numbers on the wall until she found Hermione's.

She punched in the numbers and the phone started to ring…and ring…and ring. Nobody was home. Ginny sighed; she was never going to get out of this stupid house. Suddenly she got an idea, she could fly over to Hermione's apartment and surprise her when she got home. Hermione had said that she was welcome there anytime.

"Mom," she called. "I'm going over to Hermione's right away!"

* * *

Hermione and Draco walked around for a few more hours. After Draco bought his computer they went to the library, the bowling alley and to a coffee shop for lunch. Although he didn't tell Hermione, Draco was amazed by everything he saw. He would never have thought that muggles were so smart. He had seen more technology in one afternoon than he had in his whole life.

Finally Hermione announced that she was going to head to Diagon Alley to get her school things. They both agreed that it wasn't safe for Draco to go because of his father. So Draco gave Hermione some money and started back to her apartment to try and set up his computer.

Draco took his time getting back to Hermione's apartment. He had shrunk the computer to fit into his pocket so he had nothing hindering him. He saw a clothing store on the corner and realized that he was wearing his only muggle outfit. He turned to head inside. He was looking through a rack of jeans when he heard a voice behind him.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"No, I'm just looking for a new pair of pants," he said, turning back to the rack.

"For your girlfriend?" the girl asked.

"No…for myself."

"Oh, well you're looking at girl's pants."

Draco felt heat rush to his face. "Fashion these days…It all looks the same to me."

* * *

An hour later Draco finally left the store with enough clothing to last him a week. Shopping was not something that he wanted to do again anytime soon. The girl had thought that everything about him was funny and that irritated him. Just because he didn't know what his size was, didn't mean him was some kind of idiot, low-class citizen.

He walked the final block to Hermione's apartment and headed up the stairs. It wasn't until he reached the top that he realized that he didn't have a key. He pulled out his wand.

"Alohomora," the lock opened. "Stupid trusting mudblood."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Draco turned to find a wand pointed in his face.

* * *

Severus Snape was adding the final ingredient to the Pepperup Potion that Madam Pomfrey had asked him for when he felt the burn on his arm. The Dark Lord was called a meeting already. This had to mean that he was already taking action with Draco. Snape sighed and walked over to his fireplace.

"Malfoy Manor," he said as he threw in the Floo Powder.

He was one of the first ones to arrive in Lucius' sitting room. He silently took his seat next to the fireplace. It only took about five minutes for the rest of the Death Eaters to arrive. Everyone in the room fell silent as the Dark Lord rose to speak.

"As you all know, our top priority is usually Harry Potter, but something has come up that has forced me to think about other things. As you know, Draco Malfoy has betrayed me. So now, instead of finding and destroying Potter, I have to waste my time finding the Malfoy boy," Voldemort sent Lucius an icy glare.

"So, our plan of events now is to find Draco and whoever is hiding him and bring them here."

Voldemort assigned them their locations and sent them on their way.

* * *

Hermione left Flourish and Blotts with her arms loaded with books. She decided that she needed a new pair of robes for the coming school year and turned to walk towards Madam Malkin's. She turned and ran directly into Professor Snape.

"Oh, Professor, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said, bending to pick up her books. While she was on the ground she heard a whisper in her ear.

"Miss Granger, if you happen to see Mister Malfoy, tell him the Dark Lord is furious and that he has all of his followers looking for him," and then he was gone.

Hermione couldn't believe it. All of the Death Eaters were looking for him? Voldemort and Lucius must be very angry. Maybe it was more dangerous than she had thought to have Draco staying in her home. Hermione decided to leave her robes until another day and she apparated home.

* * *

"Put that wand away Weasley."

"I don't think so Malfoy! What are you doing, barging into Hermione's apartment?"  
"None of your business, Muggle Lover," he said pushing past her.

Ginny followed him out onto the balcony, "I swear I'll hex you if you don't tell me why you're here!"

"I'm terrified, really," he said lighting a cigarette.

"Protego Totalus!" Draco found himself completely encased in a shield; no spells could go in or out.

"Fabulous Weasley, I guess I'll just wait here until Hermione gets home then."

The two then sat and stared at each other in silence until they heard the apartment door opening.

"Hey Malfoy, I ran into Snape in Diagon Alley and…Ginny! Wha-What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit you as a surprise. What is this scum doing here?" Ginny eyed Hermione suspiciously.

"Come inside Ginny, let's talk," Hermione said.

"Before you two have this little heart-to-heart, can someone let me out of this bubble please?"

"Oh, sorry Malfoy," Hermione waved her wand in his direction.

"Hermione, what's going on?" Ginny said walking back inside.

"It's no big deal really," Hermione closed the door between them and Draco.

"You're not sleeping with him are you?"

"God no! Ginny!"

"Well, what am I supposed to think? I come here for a visit and Malfoy is all nice and cozy!" Ginny gestured to the sheets still on the couch.

"He just needed a place to stay."

"So you let every piece of trash from the street sleep in your apartment?"

"It's not like that. I can't go into the details, but he has to stay here. It's for his safety and mine."

"Merlin, you've gotten yourself into trouble haven't you?"

"No, but he has, and I'm going to do everything in my power to get him to stay here until it's fixed."

* * *

Draco watched the two girls arguing through the glass door. He didn't know what they were saying, but he knew that it was about him. He stood up, flicked his cigarette and walked inside. The two stopped talking as soon as they heard the door open behind them.

"You can stop arguing now, I'm leaving."

"No, you're not," Hermione said.

"Hermione just let him leave, you can't force him to stay here," Ginny said.

"Malfoy, I ran into Snape today in Diagon Alley," Hermione told him, eyeing Ginny.

"Just tell me what he said, I don't care if Weasley hears."

"He told me that Voldemort has got all of the Death Eaters out looking for you. You can't just leave here and wander around the streets; he'll find you as soon as you leave my doorstep. I've already put up the wards around the apartment. No one is coming or going anywhere tonight."

* * *

**AN: I know it's short and pretty uneventful, but I wanted to get another chapter out for you guys while I had some spare time.**

**Please review and tell me what you think**


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_Oh yeah, we meet again  
It's like we never left  
Time in between was just a dream  
Did we leave this place?  
This crazy fog surrounds me_

The three of them stood in silence as Draco and Ginny glared at each other. Hermione rolled her eyes and was about to walk into her bedroom when Draco suddenly collapsed onto the couch behind him. Hermione sighed and walked back over to him.

"It won't be so bad Malfoy, Ginny and I won't bug you too much," Hermione said.

When Draco did not respond Hermione reached down and shook his shoulder, still nothing. Ginny gasped in shock when Draco eyes rolled back into his head and his body started to convulse on the couch.

"Ginny, help me hold him down!" Hermione yelled.

Ginny rushed over and grabbed one of his arms. His limbs were swinging out of control, Hermione ducked as his elbow slammed past her head. Draco's head was shaking and his body was crashing back and forth on the table. His legs flew out from under him and crashed into the coffee table, smashing its glass surface. His mouth started to open and close and Hermione realized that he was trying to speak.

"No…Not her…Not now…Stop! NO!" Draco yelled out.

Suddenly his body fell still and his head slumped over to one side. Hermione and Ginny let go and stepped back cautiously.

"What was that?" Ginny asked quietly.

"I'm not sure, why isn't he waking up?" Hermione asked stepping back and placing his hand on his forehead. She quickly stepped back.

"What?" Ginny asked. "What is it?"

"He's burning up. What can we do to bring down a fever?" Hermione racked her memory and thought of something that her mother had told her as a child. "Ginny, run to the fridge and grab some eggs quick! Bring a cloth too!"

Ginny rushed into the kitchen and Hermione grabbed for her wand. Hermione noticed that Draco's lips were turning blue and realized that he wasn't breathing.

"Anapneo," she said pointing her wand at his chest. She was relieved to see his chest begin to raise and fall. At the moment Ginny came running back into the room with a bowl full of eggs.

"Don't you know any spells to bring down a fever?" Ginny asked desperately.

"No, do you?" Hermione suddenly wished that she had taken the Medical Spells course that Hogwarts had.

"No…What are the eggs for?"

"My mum once told me when I was younger that putting egg whites on the souls of your feet will bring a fever down faster than anything else. It sounds crazy, but it's worth a try."

Hermione cracked the eggs into the bowl and soaked up the gooey mess with the rag that Ginny had given her. She slipped off Draco's shoes and socks and placed them on the floor. She wiped the cloth over his feet and wrestled his socks back on.

"Now what?" Ginny said.

"Now we wait."

* * *

The Dark Lord placed the black cloth back over the glowing red orb. This orb had belonged to him since his Hogwarts days. It was good for only one thing: causing pain. The orb made him able to perform long-distance mental attacks. He could send visions, curses and messages straight into the minds of his victims. 

He turned slowly to find Lucius entering the room. He sneered at the blond man. It was partly his fault that this mess had happened in the first place. Draco was a very powerful wizard and would have been a great edition to his followers. But Lucius had not managed to bring the boy into his services. Instead Draco was now hidden away somewhere, defying him.

"It is finished," Voldemort said.

"What is finished my Lord?" Lucius asked uneasily.

I have sent him my darkest visions. If they have not killed him, they shall certainly drive him to the point of insanity."

* * *

Draco awoke hours later with a pounding headache. He opened his eyes slowly. At first he couldn't see a thing but after a blinking a few times he could make out the room. He was in Granger's living room. He looked to his side and saw Granger and Weasley sitting on the floor whispering.

"I can't believe you're going to let him stay here Hermione! He's a Death Eater, don't you remember who is father is?"

"Ginny, he is not a Death Eater. He has run away from his father and from that life! I can't throw him out on the street, not when he is just learning what a real life should be like!"

"Hermione, how do you know he has actually changed? For all you know this could be some kind of plot to get Voldemort closer to Harry!" Ginny said.

At that moment their conversation was broken by a groan that came from the couch. They both turned and saw that Draco had his eyes open. His eyes were darting around the room as if he thought there was someone else in the room with them.

"Malfoy, you're awake! How do you feel?" Hermione asked him.

"We have to leave now! They're here! They're here in this room with us right now," Draco yelled.

"There's no one here Malfoy," Hermione said, looking around the room.

"Can't you see them? They're hiding in every corner and every shadow," Draco whispered.

Hermione cast Ginny a silent glance. What was he talking about? There was no one else in the room with them.

"Listen Malfoy, you've been through a big shock. You had some kind of episode, like a weird seizure or something. It must have left some side effects, but there is really no one here besides Ginny and I."

Draco cast another wide-eyed glance around the room. "You're right, it's fading now," he sighed.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, it's like one minute I was here and the next minute I was at home…and the Death Eaters were…and Voldemort was…" Draco trailed off.

"I think it was some kind of attack from Voldemort, he might have been trying to kill you."

"Kill me or drive me insane. I've seen him use this kind of torture before. He can send curses or visions out to kill his victims. If they don't die then they slowly go insane and usually end up killing themselves."

Hermione was speechless. Draco, go insane? Just a few hours ago he had been his normal, defiant, arrogant self. He even seemed fairly normal right now. How could you go insane just from seeing something anyway?

"What do you mean go insane? How can you go insane just by seeing something?"

"Well, right now, I don't really remember what I saw, or even what kind of attack it was, sometimes it can takes months, but it all comes back."

"What comes back?" Ginny spoke up.

"The visions, usually they cause nightmares. You start dreaming about what you saw and then a few things can happen. You can try to fight it, but usually you either start to think that the creatures and horror from the visions are really around you, or you'll go crawling back to the Dark Lord in a desperate attempt to make it all stop.

* * *

The next week was rough. None of them could leave the apartment for fear of being attacked. The tension was thicker than Gilderoy Lockhart's head. Draco was frustrated. The two girls were watching him closely. He guessed that they were looking for signs of insanity. Hopefully he wasn't showing any yet. He tried to keep to himself as much as possible. He slept, ate, and spent most of his time alone on the balcony. He felt unwelcome. 

For Hermione the week hadn't been much better. She could tell that Draco was getting sick of her watching him all the time, but she was worried. What he had told her about the attack frightened her. What would happen when Voldemort found out that it hadn't worked? What if it had worked?

Ginny wished that she had never come to Hermione's apartment. As soon as she could leave she would. She loved Hermione but she didn't understand the situation with Malfoy. She didn't trust him any more than she trusted any Death Eater. If she were Hermione she would have thrown him out before he had even come in. Ginny felt that Draco was just using Hermione for a place to stay because he was too scared to go anywhere else. He got sick of sitting around at home so he went out to find someone vulnerable and lonely enough to let him stay with them until he felt like going home.

"Hermione, I'm going home," Ginny finally told her on the Saturday morning.

"Ginny, its not-"

"And before you tell me it's not safe just listen. No one but my parents know that I'm here, Voldemort isn't going to zap me as soon as I fly out the windows. You set up those wards to stop people from getting in, not out."

"Shh," Hermione hissed, eyeing Draco on the balcony.

"I just can't stand being here anymore with him, I don't know how you can do it, but I can't. So I'm going to get on my broomstick, fly out the window, and come back when you're apartment is…less occupied."

Somehow with Ginny gone, the tension grew even thicker. It wouldn't even be so back if they were arguing with each other, but there was no communication. The walked around the place in silence. They ate together; watched TV together, sat outside together and never said a word to each other.

"Are you ok?" Hermione asked him one afternoon when they were sitting outside.

Draco was startled to hear her voice, they hadn't spoken to each other in three days.

"I'm fine."

"Then, do you think we could talk?"

"What about?"

"About the attack last week. I was just wondering how you had been feeling since then."

Draco sighed, he knew this was coming. "So far, I feel fine. It's a little strange because I think it should have started by now."

The truth was that it all should have started within twenty-four hours after the attack. He should have been having nightmares every night and living them every day. But so far there had been nothing. It made him scared that when it did finally start that it would be even worse then it usually was.

"Well, that's good then isn't it?" Hermione broke his train of thought.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. It could mean that the attack didn't work properly on me. But, on the other side of the spectrum it could mean that it's taking it's time; bubbling up inside me, ready to explode at any moment."

* * *

The next morning Hermione awoke to the smell of bacon and the sound of muggle music. She tiptoed into the kitchen and had to stifle a giggle when she saw Draco standing there. He had the radio on and seemed to be trying to make pancakes. He had flour all over him, all over the counter, and all over the floor. Suddenly she couldn't contain herself anymore and she laughed out loud. 

"What are you doing?"

"I was trying to make breakfast," he said, turning around with a scowl. "I wanted to do something to say…thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"Isn't this enough that I'm doing this? Do you have to try and make me get all mushy?" Draco wasn't really mad. He was embarrassed that she had caught him trying to do something nice for her. He was trying to thank her for letting him stay here even though it was dangerous.

"Sorry," she said. "Do you want some help, or do you want me to leave you to this?"

"I can do it myself," he said angrily, turning back to the batter in front of him.

Hermione walked out into the living room laughing.

An hour later as she was getting out of the shower, she was surprised to find the apartment smelling very nice. It would seem that Draco had succeeded in making his first real muggle breakfast. Hermione smiled walking into the kitchen; he had cleaned off the counter and set the table.

"This is lovely Malfoy."

Draco didn't say anything as he sat down at the table and started eating his pancakes.

"Don't you put syrup on your pancakes?" Hermione asked him.

"No, the sugar upsets my stomach."

"Who are you?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've gone to school together for six years and spent almost three weeks in this apartment together, and I feel like I don't know even know you."

"You've never had any reason to know anything about me, and I've never had any reason to know anything about you."

"But now I feel the need to know. I mean, what's your favourite colour, your favourite class at school, what's your mother like?" Hermione asked.

Draco almost told her to bugger off, but then he decided he really had no reason not to tell her about himself. "My favourite colour is blue, my favourite class is Potions, of course, and my mother is just an empty shell of the person that she used to be."

Hermione was taken aback, she had expected him to just blow off her questions or laugh.

"What was your mother like before?" Hermione asked quietly.

"She was beautiful, but not how she is now, she used to be warm. She used to laugh and hug people. She used to be happy. Her smile could light up a room; she was the one who everyone wanted to be noticed by. But now she's grown cold. She doesn't talk much or do much of anything. She wanders around the manor most of the time and stares blankly out the windows."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "I never had a close relationship with my parents. Especially after I went away to Hogwarts. Even if they tried, they wouldn't really be able to understand the world that we live in. They know very little about Voldemort and what Harry, Ron and I have gone through."

"You've done all of those things, and your parents don't even know?" Draco was surprised.

"They wouldn't understand. They couldn't see past the fact that I'm putting myself in danger to understand the fact that we don't always have a choice about the things that we have to do. I have to fight beside Harry and you had to leave your old life behind you. It's not always something that you decide, but rather something that is decided for you."

Draco walked outside after breakfast feeling defeated. He lit a cigarette and thought about Hermione. Why was he letting her in? Just because she asked him some questions didn't mean he had to answer them. He had always been a private person, keeping his real thoughts and his real problems to himself. But then he had unloaded some of his most private feelings to a girl that he had used to hate.

He told himself that it was because he had been cooped up in the apartment for so long. He had nothing to do. He had two choices during the day, he could either be by himself or he could be with her. He kept telling himself that he didn't really like her company; he just didn't want to spend his days by himself.

He knew that he couldn't keep doing this. If he kept talking to her and having her as company he might actually start to enjoy it. The last thing that he needed was to enjoy time that was spent with her.

Hermione awoke the next morning to find the couch empty. Draco was gone.

* * *

**AN: Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone! I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long to post! I sent it to my beta reader about two weeks ago and for some reason I thought that I had posted it already and then I realized today that she never sent it back.**

**So, once again, this chapter is un-beta'd but I hope you all like it anyway. I should have the next chapter up sometime late next week. I've already started it and I'm on Christmas break right now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**AN: Hey first off, I want to apologize to perfect-prima-donna for not thanking you in my last chapter for pointing out my typos again so I'm thanking you now.**

* * *

_Stars when you shine _

_You know how I feel_

_Smell of the pine _

_You know how I feel_

_Yeah freedom is mine_

_And you know how I feel_

_It's a new dawn, it's a new day _

_It's a new life for me_

* * *

Hermione worried about Draco all morning. She didn't know if he had left for good, for a little while or if he had been taken from her apartment. She walked outside onto the balcony and noticed how dark the sky was. Great, Draco was gone, and it was going to rain. Hermione didn't care. If she got wet, she got wet, what difference did it really make? She hadn't realized over the last three weeks what his presence was for her. Putting all of the uncomfortable and tense times aside, it had been pretty good. She enjoyed talking to him and, for some reason, he made her feel safe.

She couldn't imagine where he would have gone. He didn't have anywhere to go back too and she just couldn't picture him staying with a friend or in some hotel. Three days went by and there was still no sign of him. She sat on the balcony or on the couch in the living room all day long trying to think of where he could be and what he was doing. She couldn't sleep at night because she was waiting for the sound of the front door. The sound of him coming home.

* * *

**Three Days Earlier**

Draco waited silently on the couch until he was sure that Hermione was asleep. He felt terrible for leaving and not saying goodbye and thank you but he just had to get out. He knew that if he had told her he was leaving she would have tried to convince him to stay and would probably have succeeded too. He just couldn't sit here and wait for it though. He knew that something was going to happen. There would be another attack, either on him mentally or on the apartment physically and he didn't want to put her through that. He couldn't keep her life in constant danger.

At first he had tried to convince himself that he was doing this for himself and that he couldn't care less about Hermione and her safety or feelings, but he could not lie to himself anymore. No one would ever think that their life could change so drastically in just a few weeks, but his had. He actually cared about people other than himself now. As much as he hated to admit it he cared for Hermione, and not just her physical well-being. He liked to talk to her, he liked being around her. He had learned that she was very much his equal in many ways. This was why he had to leave.

It wasn't normal for a life to be changed this way, a heart and soul to be changed this way and it confused him. He didn't know what his place in life, his place in the world, was anymore. He didn't know himself anymore and he had to leave, at least until he could figure that out. He couldn't understand his feelings for Hermione. She was the last person that he would have ever imagined wanting to spend time with. He was supposed to hate her for everything she was and everything that she stood for.

So he waited until she was asleep and then he took his bag and walked out. He didn't know where he was going or if he would be back. He thought about leaving a note, but he thought that it would be better for her to just forget about him. He knew that he had growing feelings for her and he couldn't stand to be rejected by her. She certainly didn't return his feelings and she never would.

* * *

But Hermione couldn't forget about him. As the days dragged on she thought about him constantly. She tried to convince herself that she was better off, that she hated him. He was a cruel and awful person. Ginny had been right, he had been here to try and trick her. He had been trying to make her like him and trust him so that he could get something out of it. She hated herself for almost falling for it. That was the first day.

The second day she realized that she was wrong. She began to think that she had feelings for him. She hadn't realized it until now. It took them being apart for her to understand how she felt. Despite everything that she had known about him before, she invited him into her home. She had allowed him to stay there because she saw something in him, something different.

He really had changed in her eyes. He was caring and thoughtful, he had proved that by helping her home and making breakfast as well as other kind things. He was funny and pleasant to be around. She also knew that she had not had such interesting and intellectual conversations with anyone else she knew.

By the third day she was angry. She was angry with him for leaving. She was angry with herself for not stopping him. She was angry with Voldemort for putting all of them in this position in the first place. But she was even more angry about the thought of never seeing him again and never telling him how she felt.

* * *

It didn't take Draco long to realize that he had no where to go. He wandered the streets of Hermione's neighbourhood aimlessly for hours. The night was cool but the sky was clear, it was really very pleasant outside. Once by himself, he could think of nothing but her, nothing but what he had left behind.

As much as he tried to stop them, his thoughts just kept returning to Hermione. He knew that they could never have anything between them and he couldn't figure out why he was even falling for her. Sure she was beautiful…kind…funny and smart, but she was a mudblood and that was the bottom line. Nothing that could be had between them would be right or smart. His family would never accept her, the wizarding world would never accept them together.

As Draco walked past the pub where he had first seen Hermione all those weeks ago he realized that he was growing tired. He had no where to go to sleep. He couldn't go back to Hermione's and he certainly couldn't go home. He turned down an alley way and was relieved to find it empty of people. He conjured some card board boxes into a pillow and blanket and lay down to sleep on the cold and dirty ground.

Draco woke up when the sun hit his eyelids. He opened them to find a dirty man's face hovering above his own. Draco squinted upwards at the glaring man and felt for his wand in his pocket. He quickly noticed the man's ratty clothing and realized that he was homeless.

"Hey, you!" the man prodded him in the chest with a stubby finger. "You can't sleep here, this is my alley!"

"Whatever, it won't happen again," Draco stood up slowly and dusted himself off. He walked stiffly out of the alleyway leaving the pillow and blanket for the old homeless man.

So here he was again, wandering the streets alone. Some way to start out his new life he thought sarcastically to himself. He spotted a coffee shop on the corner and decided to head inside. He asked the woman behind the counter where the bathroom was and she pointed him towards it.

Once inside the bathroom he stood in front of the mirror and surveyed his appearance. He looked like shit. Sleeping on the ground definitely did no justice for a Malfoy. He ran his hands under the hot water for a while and then splashed some onto his face and into his hair.

Back in the restaurant he ordered some coffee and some scrambled eggs. He looked around the tiny place as he waited for his food to stop his thoughts from wandering where he didn't want them too. The place was relatively empty being as it was only eight in the morning. After what seemed like hours the waitress arrived back with his breakfast.

"Let me know if you need anything else Hon," she said throwing him a smile.

Draco turned towards the table and began to stir his coffee. As he ate his eggs his thoughts drifted back to Hermione once again. He wasn't even sure if he would even see her again. He knew that he would probably end up having to go back to Hogwarts. He really had no where else to go, and he certainly couldn't think of a safer place and, afterall, he was Head Boy.

The day passed dreadfully slow for Draco. When he had finished his breakfast he made a quick stop at the convenience store next door. He stepped outside into the sunshine lighting a cigarette as he walked. He strolled through a park and sat on a swing. He stopped into a restaurant for lunch, did some more wandering and then ate some dinner. He spent his second night on the streets much the same as the first but with a different alleyway and then back to the coffee shop in the morning.

* * *

The third day was the hardest for Hermione. She was starting to lose all hope of him coming back. She had sat in her living room all day again, wondering where he could be. Why hadn't he left a note to at least say that he was leaving? She was terrified that something awful had happened to him while she had been sleeping.

It really shouldn't bother her so much. This time last month she had hated Draco Malfoy with a passion. Finally the sky outside of her windows had grown black and Hermione decided to try and get some sleep. She pulled herself from the couch with a sigh and dragged her body into her bedroom.

* * *

For Draco the third day was also the hardest, but for very different reasons. He woke up on the ground as usual, but today he found that he was soaking wet. He opened his eyes to see rain pouring down onto his face. He got up quickly and ran back to the coffee shop that he had been in the morning before. He smiled at the waitress as he hurried into the bathroom. He checked to make sure the small restroom was empty before waving his wand and drying the clothes that he was wearing. He quickly changed into the clothes that he had bought at the muggle store a few days back and then stepped back into the dining room.

He sat down and ordered a coffee and scrambled eggs as he had the past two mornings. While he was eating he began to wonder how long he could keep this up. He could sleep in alleys just fine (he was even starting to be able to ignore the dirt) but he didn't think he could live on scrambled eggs and sandwiches for much longer.

He was due to start his final year at Hogwarts in just over a month. Hermione had picked up his school books when she gotten hers but he had left everything but his clothes, money and his wand at her apartment when he had left. He briefly thought about going back to pick the rest of his things up but did not think that he would be welcomed back into her apartment any time soon.

That night when Draco was heading into an alley to get some sleep he found that this alley was not unoccupied. He squinted down the alleyway and saw three dark-hooded figures standing directly in front of him. He turned away, hoping that they hadn't noticed him. He could immediately tell that this wasn't the case.

"Incarceratus!" Draco ducked as the ropes sailed over his head. He spun around shouting the first spell that came to mind. "Expelliarmus!" _Bloody hell, I sound like Potter, _He thought to himself. The wand of the wizard who had shot the ropes at him flew out of sight.

"Impedimenta!" Draco yelled. The Death Eater ducked, missing Draco's spell by inches.

"Confringo!" Draco felt himself being thrown sideways as the dumpster beside him exploded. He saw the Death Eater approaching him quickly and shouted "Locomotor Mortis" as he stood up.

"Bloody little traitor! Come with us willingly and the Dark Lord may show you mercy!"

"Like hell," Draco said pointing his wand at the three remaining Death Eaters. The one in front let out a yell and Draco felt himself being thrown at the wall behind him. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes as the Death Eaters surrounded him. He had to think quickly if he was going to get out of this one.

* * *

**AN: Ok…there is no excuse for it…I'm just terrible. I've left this story abandoned for months. I've actually had this chapter sitting finished on my computer since January, I just never put it up. I got really busy with school and had the worst semester of my life…leading to me not graduating. Anyway, here it is finally. I plan to write the next chapter now…but I'm not going to make any promises, just in case I don't.**

**Yeah…if anyone is still actually reading this…**


	6. Chapter 6

_Down here in the atmosphere_

_Garbage and city lights_

_You've gone to save your tired soul_

_You've gone to save our lives_

* * *

Hermione was finally beginning to drift off to sleep when she thought she heard a noise from the other room. She threw off her covers, grabbed her wand and walked cautiously into the front room. Holding her wand tightly in front of her, she walked slowly towards the door. For the moment it was silent and she stood motionless. She was so sure that she heard a noise. Suddenly she heard a thump and she quickly threw the door open.

Her breath flew out in a violent gasp when she saw what was in front of her. It was Draco, passed out in the hallway, one hand reaching towards her feet. Panicking, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into her living room. Locking the door quickly she leaned over top of him. She was relieved to see that he was breathing.

"Draco? Draco, are you ok?"

There was no response from the boy on the floor. She flicked her wand to turn and the light in leaning in for a closer look. His platinum hair was slick with blood against his cheek. His bottom lip was swollen and had burst in the middle. He had a black eye and a violently purple bruise covering most of his right cheek. His right arm was sitting at an angle that made Hermione's stomach churn. His jeans were sliced and she could see blood through the holes.

"Divesto," she muttered, cleaning the blood away from the cuts. Hermione was not experienced with healing, but she fixed the cuts on his legs the best she could. She was working quickly, but her hands were shaking because she was terrified. As she worked, she wondered what had happening. He disappears for three days without so much as a note, and then appears at her doorstep like this? Finally she cast a simple charm that she hoped would help to dull the pain.

"Rennervate," for a moment nothing happened, he didn't wake up. Hermione had hung her head, not knowing what to do when she heard a cough in front of her. Draco groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Water," he croaked. Hermione swiftly ran to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water.

"Can you move?" Hermione asked him when he had finished some water. He nodded and she helped him into a sitting position and then half supported him and he struggled onto the couch.

"My arm…I can't move my arm."

Hermione didn't know how to fix a broken arm so she used a towel to form a makeshift sling hoping that it would help. When she had done all she could she sat down, exhausted.

"What happened Malfoy?"

Draco quickly relayed to her what he had been through the last three days, finishing with being woken up by the Death Eaters that morning.

"They kept throwing spells at me until I was on the ground and then they started kicking. I had no idea how I was going to get out of there."

* * *

That Morning

Draco looked up to see the Death Eater's foot coming down on his face. He turned his head and spit blood. His lip must have ripped open. Suddenly he was picked up and thrown across the alleyway. He felt his arm be pulled backwards and heard a loud snap. He could hear yelling from the entrance to the alley. He saw some muggles standing there yelling at the Death Eaters to get away from him.

The Death Eater's turned for just a second and Draco knew that this was his chance to get away. He fumbled with his left hand for his wand and pulled it out in front of him.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" All three Death Eater's fell on the ground. The muggles looked at him with wide eyes and then they all turned and ran away. Draco wiped the blood from his eyes. He suddenly wished he had stayed with his father long enough to have taken his apparition test. He couldn't stay here, who knew how long the Death Eater's would stay unconscious for?

"So I spent the rest of the day staggering my way back here," Draco said, ending the story.

Hermione leaned back on the couch and pinched the bridge of her nose. "There's just one thing that I still don't understand," she finally said.

"What's that?"

"Why did you leave?"

Draco hadn't been expecting that. He thought about telling her that he had left because he couldn't stand to be around her for another minute, but he did not want to lie anymore.

"I left because of you," he told her.

Hermione's eyes darkened. She had thought that they were finally understanding each other, finally putting their differences aside and becoming friends. Now he was going to sit here in her home and tell her that he still hated her. She didn't want him to see the hurt look in her eyes so she turned away.

"I left because I wanted to protect you," he told her in a defeated voice.

"What?" Hermione was shocked by his answer. That was the last thing she had expected to hear.

"I couldn't bare the thought of being in your home, putting you in danger the way I had been. I left my father's house because I was tired of being a selfish bastard. I couldn't stand the way you were starting to look at me. You were watching me all the time, just waiting to see if I would finally go insane. I don't want to be a burden to anyone anymore. If that means leaving here again than I will."

"Draco," Hermione said taking a deep breath. "You're not a burden. Do you know how hard these last three days were for me? I spent every moment of each of them worrying about you, wondering where you were and hoping that you weren't dead. I've…I've come to enjoy the time that we spend together," Hermione said, embarrassed.

Hermione was started when Draco suddenly stood up and let out and angry yell.

"Why do I always fuck up everything? This can't work Hermione. There can't be anything between us. Not friendship, not anything. My father…"

"Who cares about your father? This is about you Draco. You left to start a new life, something different. So do that, have a new life. Live for yourself by your rules."

"My father will kill you Hermione! I can hide from him for now, maybe even after I go back to school, but I can't hide from him forever. I can't hide from Voldemort forever. If they were to find out that I had been staying here with you…or that I had become involved in any way with you, they would kill you without a second thought. I can't do that to you."

Hermione felt a smile creeping onto her face. She tried to hold it in, but she couldn't help giggling.

"What? Are you laughing? How could this possibly be funny?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"You sound like Harry."

* * *

"What do you mean you didn't bring him back?" Voldemort bellowed at the three cloaked men in front of him.

"My Lord we-"

"Did I say you could speak Mulciber?"

"No my Lord"

"That's right. How can a seventeen-year-old boy escape from three grown and trained death eaters?"

"My Lord there were muggles-"

"Silence Jugson! I will not hear you blame this on a bunch of pitiful muggles! You all will pay dearly for this mistake."

"My Lord if we could only just-"

"Three times Rowle! Three times I have now been interrupted by you fools! We will start with you then! Crucio!"

* * *

Hermione watched Draco pace back and forth on her balcony. He had not been pleased with her comment about Harry. She smiled to herself again at the thought. The smile quickly left her face, there were many other issues at hand. Draco had been right, of course, she had been watching him before he left, looking for signs of insanity. She turned to look at him again and saw that he was now sitting down with his head in his hands.

"Are you alright?"

"It's just a headache," he said through clenched teeth.

"Just a headache…Draco how much do you really know about this torture tool that Voldemort used on you?"

"I don't know anything about it. I just know that he has something that can be used for long-distance mental attacks. I don't know what it actually is, just what it does."

"What does it do?"

"Voldemort projects his own thoughts and visions with it. He has done some really messed up things and he is insane. Sending those visions to someone else will eventually cause them to go insane. Voldemort may be crazy, but he is still able to function. People that are attacked eventually become comatose; their minds can't take the visions all being thrown on them at once."

"Is that what always happens?"

"As far as I know. Sometimes it takes more than one attack to actually drive the victim insane, but I've never heard of it not working."

Later that night, after Draco had gone to sleep, Hermione went to work doing what she did best. She was going to research Voldemort and his methods of torture. She pulled out a large leather bound book called The Dark Lord's Deeds and opened it up. She found lots of information about the different kinds of curses he used, but not much else.

The Dark Lord apparently didn't actually do much work for himself. More often than not he would send his Death Eaters to do his dirty work for him. He himself only punished his Death Eaters and those who he felt owed him for something they had done. He clearly thought that Draco owed him something.

She did not come across anything useful until she came to a section full of victim profiles. It was a list of suspected victims of Voldemort.

**Henrietta Hagshaw - Victim of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or just insane?**

Henrietta Hagshaw was the daughter of known Death Eater Augustus Rookwood. She left home after graduating Hogwarts in 1982 to marry Rufus Hagshaw and sources say that she never spoke to her parents again. She was described as beautiful, intelligent and full of life.

Henrietta was put into the custody of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries after weeks of babbling about death and red eyes in the carpet. Her husband claimed that she had been attacked, but the staff of St. Mungo's could find nothing wrong with her.

Her husband told them that she had suffered what had appeared to be an epileptic attack of seizures and things had gone downhill from there. Rufus said that she cried out during the seizures as if she were dreaming but Henrietta could remember nothing of the visions after the episode.

In the weeks that followed Henrietta suffered from serious headaches and nightmares. The nightmares became more and more frequent until she could no longer bring herself to sleep. The visions began to occur during the day. Finally one night she had tried to end her life and her husband knew it was time to take her to the hospital.

She stayed at St. Mungo's for two years before slipping into a coma and finally dying on June 16th, 1987. The Healers could find no reason for the attacks and declared her to have been insane. Her husband still claims to this day that she was attacked by the Dark Lord. This case is and probably always will be a medical mystery.

Hermione read on and found other documented cases similar to this one. Every one of them was almost the same and was declared a medical mystery. She looked at Draco sleeping on the couch. As far as she could see, he was not having any nightmares yet, but she didn't know how much longer she would have to solve this.

* * *

The next morning Hermione made breakfast early for the two of them. She already had eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast and orange juice on the table by the time Draco staggered, still half asleep, into the kitchen. She smiled when she noticed his rumpled hair; it was nice to know that even Draco Malfoy didn't wake up looking perfect.

"Are we expecting company? He asked, looking confused.

"No, why?"

"This is an awful lot of food for just the two of us, isn't it?"

"Well, I just figured…I wanted to do something for you after you spent three days on the streets and almost got yourself killed trying to protect me."

Draco smiled at her and started to eat his eggs. Hermione forgot about her worries for a minute while she watched him eat. She knew that she would have to tell him soon about all of the information she had found the night before. For now he could just enjoy his breakfast.

Draco sighed when he saw Hermione staring at him. Here we go again, he thought. He knew she was looking for signs of insanity. In reality, she was staring at him for the opposite reason. All she wanted at that moment was to see him healthy and happy. After breakfast, Hermione cleaned up and did the dishes. Finally, she couldn't put it off any longer. She stepped out onto the balcony to sit with Draco.

"Draco, have you ever heard of Henrietta Hagshaw?"

"The name sounds a little familiar, why?"

Hermione explained to him what she read the night before about Henrietta and all of the other victims. His eyes grew darker and darker as she continued. When she had finished she saw that he had pressed his fingers to his temples for a moment. He appeared to be in pain.

"Another headache?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, fumbling with his lighter.

"Are you ok?" Hermione had never seen Draco do a clumsy in thing in her life.

"I'm fine. So, does it say anything in those books about how to fix it?"

"No, but I'll keep looking."

* * *

Over the next week Hermione spent all of her time researching. She looked through all of the books that she had and even visited a library in Knockturn Alley to get some more books but she could not find anything about how to cure it. All of the suspected victims had died and none of their healers had had any idea how to stop it.

Draco felt pretty useless during the times that Hermione spent researching. He spent most of his time on his computer. It had taken him days to set the thing up, but it was worth it. Not only could he play games but he quickly found that he could buy things! He would never have to leave the apartment to buy the things that he wanted.

When the week was over, Hermione had found nothing but a potion that helped relieved the pain of the headaches. On Friday night, the two of them sat down to watch a movie on the couch. When it was over Hermione stood up to go back to her research.

"Wait," Draco said, "There's something I want to give you."

"Something to give me?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I ordered it on the internet the other day and had it delivered yesterday while you were at the library." Draco reached into his backpack and pulled out a small red box with a silver bow on top. He handed it to her looking slightly embarrassed.

"It's nothing really…Just me trying to say thank you for everything you're doing for me."

Hermione, forever cautious, slowly untied the bow and placed it on the table. She lifted the lid off and gasped. Inside the box, nested in the centre of a pile of cotton was a breathtaking necklace. It was a rose, with bright red petals and a gleaming green stem. In the centre of the rose was a diamond.

"Oh Draco! It's beautiful, I love it!" Hermione exclaimed throwing her arms around him. Draco was surprised by her hug. It had been years since anyone had hugged him. He was also surprised by how it made him feel.

"Here, let me put it on for you," he said, reaching into the box.

She turned around and he gently lifted the hair off the back of her neck. He inhaled and caught a slight sent of vanilla. As he drew the chain around her neck, he noticed how smooth and soft her skin was. He closed the clasp and she turned back around to face him.

"How does it look?" Hermione asked.

"It's beautiful," he said looking into her eyes.

Before he had time to think about it he was leaning down towards her face. She tilted her face to meet him. He noticed her slips were slightly parted and that she wasn't breathing. He had never seen someone so beautiful in his life. He brought his lips down to hers, just brushing slightly-

"I'm sorry! Thank you for the necklace Draco, its lovely but I really have to get back to work now!" Hermione rushed from the room leaving Draco more shocked than ever.

Once inside her room, Hermione started to curse herself for being so stupid. Why had she done that? She knew that she had feelings for him, so why couldn't she just let him kiss her? At the last second she had become frightened, not of him, but of what she would be getting herself into. She knew now that there was no chance or romance between them now and it was all her fault. The problem was that she now wanted him more than ever.

* * *

Draco sat on the couch after she ran into her bedroom. What was he thinking, giving her a necklace…trying to kiss her! He had thought that she felt the same way about him that he did about her, but clearly he was wrong. He felt foolish and embarrassed. He never should have come back to Hermione's apartment. Everything he did ended badly. As he lay down to go to sleep he wondered if he should have just stayed with his father and served the Dark Lord after all.

* * *

Later that night, just as she was falling asleep, Hermione heard a noise from the living room. It sounded like a yell. She jumped out of bed and ran in. She saw Draco on the couch, his hands clenched in the sheets and his face contorted in pain. He thrashed back and forth, yelling in his sleep. Hermione ran to him to wake him up. The nightmares had finally begun.

* * *

**AN: Wow two and a half days between chapters! That has to be some kind of record for me. Thanks to those of you who reviewed. I really wasn't expecting much since it's been so long since I've written. You guys are awesome.**

Also, I'm pretty sure that I've forgotten this in the past…the song lyrics at the beginnings of the chapters so far are 

_Innocent_ – **Our Lady Peace **

_Clumsy_ – **Our Lady Peace**

_Lightning Crashes_ – **Live **

_The Dolphin's Cry_ – **Live **

_Feeling Good_ – **Muse **

_Somewhere Out There_ – **Our Lady Peace**

**So anyway, please review again to let me know what you think and I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. I have to work for the next few days and I'm getting a tattoo on Sunday, so it will probably be at least a week until the next chapter is written.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

_I hate everything about you _

_Why do I love you _

_Only when I stop to think about you, I know _

_Only when you stop to think about me, do you know  


* * *

_

The next morning Hermione walked into the kitchen to find Draco already sitting at the table drinking coffee. His blond hair was sticking up on the left side of his head and he had purple bruise-like shadows under his eyes.

"Couldn't sleep?" Hermione asked.

"No," he said, not looking at her.

"Were you having nightmares?"

Draco finally looked up and met Hermione's eyes. She was still wearing her nightgown and her hair wasn't brushed but God did she look beautiful. He had to stop himself from smiling when he saw that she was still wearing the necklace he had given her the night before. He realized after a moment of staring that she was waiting for an answer.

"Yes, I suppose it can only get worse from here."

After that, neither of them spoke for the entire meal. Hermione prepared breakfast silently and with magic. They ate quickly with an awkward silence hanging over the room. Finally Draco excused himself from the table and went to sit on the balcony. Hermione patiently cleaned up, thinking to herself. She couldn't believe the way she had acted the night before. She couldn't even imagine what Draco must think of her now! She invites him to stay in her home, he buys her gifts and then she won't even let him kiss her!

Finally she decided that she should probably go and talk to him. She put away the dishes and walked out onto the balcony. She sat down quietly in the chair across from Draco and looked at him expectantly. After a while of him not saying anything, Hermione sighed.

"What?" Draco asked irritated.

"Nothing, aren't we going to talk about last night?"

"What about last night?"

"Draco!" Hermione said exasperated.

"What? Honestly Granger, I was hoping that we could forget last night even happened and just go back to the way things were before."

"Oh, so it's Granger again? Alright Malfoy, two can play at that game," Hermione stood up and huffed her way back into her apartment. The nerve of that boy! Hermione was reminded suddenly of the Malfoy that she had always known. The past few weeks with him had begun to make her forget the way that he had been before the summer began.

Even though she had thought he was trying to change, he was still the same old cocky son of a bitch underneath it all. Apparently some things would never change. He may want to be out from under his father's wing, but his upbringing still affected the way that he was. Hermione was beginning to wonder if he could ever change. Malfoy had lived his whole life that way and although he had made the conscience decision to change his ways, he was still the same person that he had always been.

* * *

Draco was mad. Hermione Granger could make him angry like no other girl that he had ever known. He tried to be nice to her, he tried to repay her for everything that she had done for him. He had thought that their relationship had been going another way and he had gone with it. Clearly he had been wrong. Clearly Granger didn't see him as anything other than a friend. If she even thought of him as that anymore.

He shook his head violently. He really just needed to stop thinking about her. He had more important things to worry about. He had himself to worry about. A little voice in the back of his head told him that he was being selfish, but he ignored it. He was Draco Malfoy and he _was _selfish. He ignored the fact that up until this point he had been trying to change. Obviously a change wasn't what he needed. This new, nice Draco Malfoy wasn't working for him anymore.

He knew that there was something wrong with him. Something was wrong with his mind, thanks to Lucius and Voldemort, something in his head was fucked up. He hated his father more than ever at that moment. Even more hated than that was the fact that he knew that Hermione was the only one that could help him. No matter how they felt about each other, Draco knew that he could trust her. Draco knew that he had to trust her.

Draco was confused. He had really thought that Hermione was starting to like him…that way. She had been giving him all of the normal signals…She had even said that she enjoyed the time that she spent with him. She had been worried about him. At least, that's what she said. Draco wondered now, maybe she had just been trying to make him feel better? He _had _been through a lot, maybe she thought that he needed some kind of extra boost.

Draco knew that he should go inside to talk to her. She was mad at him because of what he had said to her. He just didn't know what to say now. He didn't know how to make it right again. He had to make it right though, if he was going to beat his father, to beat Voldemort and to beat this _thing_ he had to make it right again. He sighed to himself as he stood up to walk inside.

* * *

Severus was pacing his office, again. He knew that there was something that he should be doing, but he didn't know what. He wanted to help Draco, but he didn't know how to do anything without alerting Lucius and the Dark Lord. He could write another letter, but what could he say? He couldn't help if he couldn't see him, and there was no way he was going to be able to go and see him.

Severus wasn't even sure where Draco was at the moment. He knew that he had been staying with Hermione Granger. He had told him to stay put, but when did Draco ever listen to anybody? He just didn't know what to do.

Since the first meeting, Voldemort had been very secretive about what was going on. Everyone knew that Draco was still missing but no one seemed to know anything else. Severus couldn't just ask around about it either, he didn't want to draw any suspicion to himself. The Dark Lord must be doing something, but only a select few knew what and Severus definitely wasn't one of them.

He sighed to himself and finally stopped pacing. He strode to his writing desk and pulled out some parchment. There really only was one thing that he could do. He lifted his quill and began to write.

* * *

Draco was about to call for Hermione when he felt something large hit him in the back of the head. He ducked to the ground immediately and brought out his wand. He flashed his eyes back and forth but couldn't see where the attack had come from. A sudden noise brought his gaze down to his feet.

"Hoooo," it said. It was just an owl.

Draco reached down and picked the thing up. Clearly it had been flying quickly, trying to get through the open balcony door; it must not have noticed Draco standing there. The large owl was stunned so Draco brought it inside.

"What was that noise?" Hermione asked nervously when he walked into the living room.

"Snape's bloody owl just flew into the back of my head. As if I need anymore headaches," Draco grumbled.

"A letter from Snape? What does it say?" Hermione's anger was momentarily replaced with curiosity.

Still rubbing the back of his head, Draco reached for the owl's legs and retrieved the letter. He unrolled the little scroll and began to read out loud.

_Draco,_

_I am sincerely hoping that this letter finds you safe and well. I will not put the location in writing but I also hope that you are in the place you were when we last spoke. _

_I am sorry that I cannot do more to assist you at this time, but I cannot draw suspicion to myself in these dire times. Please contact me as soon as you get to Hogwarts at the start of the term so that I may help you in any way I can._

_Severus Snape_

"Well, it looks like you'll be going back to Hogwarts after all Malfoy," Hermione said, turning around and heading towards her bedroom.

"Hermione wait!" Draco called her.

"Oh, so now it's Hermione again? Make up your mind Draco! Are we friends or enemies?"

"We're…we're whatever you want us to be Hermione. It's because of you that I'm still alive, I owe everything to you right now, so I'm leaving it up to you. If you want to be friends, I'll stay here until school starts. If you never want to speak to me again I'll leave right now and never bother you again," he sighed.

For a moment, Hermione didn't know what to say. She was surprised by Draco's openness. "I want to be friends Malfoy. You're the only person that I've spoken to in the last month. Being cooped up in this apartment together was bound to get us closer than we ever expected."

"So, we're ok then?" Draco asked.

"Yes, but if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of research to get done and less than three weeks until we have to go back to Hogwarts. Speaking of Hogwarts have you even started the summer assignments?"

A look of surprise entered Draco's features for an instant before he shook his head and wandered over to the couch to get started on a month and a half's worth of homework.

* * *

Hermione wasn't used to being unable to answer all of her questions with research. If only she knew what this torture device was called, then maybe she could find a reference to it. There were just too many forms of torture to go through and anything that she found that sounded similar was vague and uninformative. She had been searching for almost two hours when she came across a promising looking article.

**You-Know-Who's Most Valuable Weapon**

_The Dark Lord's most valuable weapon is his Death Eaters. These men do most of his work for him and follow all of his orders. You-Know-Who only punishes his Death Eaters and those who have done something that has severely angered him (ex. Harry Potter). One other person greatly angered the Dark Lord not long ago. Her name was Henrietta Hagshaw._

_The Dark Lord was in love with Henrietta back in his early, evil days. She was younger than him and was still attending Hogwarts when they met. Her parents were Death Eaters and they met at a formal gathering of all of his followers. As soon as the Dark Lord saw her, he wanted her. _

_Henrietta went along with his plans for a while, it was even rumoured that the two would be married. At the very last minute, Henrietta disappeared. The next thing that was in the news was that she had married Rufus Hagshaw. This greatly displeased the Dark Lord._

_Soon after, Henrietta began to go insane; she died a few years later after going into a coma. Her husband, Rufus, still believes that the Dark Lord had something to do with this and has spent his life trying to find out what had really happened._

The article was awkward and poorly written, but there had been one thing that caught her attention. The author stated that Rufus _still_ believed that Dark Lord had been involved. There was no date on the article, but her book was only a few years old. Hermione wondered if Rufus was still alive and if he had been successful.

Hermione's moment of happiness was quickly brought down when she realized that she would have to wait another three weeks to research this further. She just didn't have the resources here, she needed to be at Hogwarts. The library there was much larger and as Head Girl, even the restricted section would be available to her. She also hoped that Professor Snape would be able to help her and maybe answer some of her questions. If only she didn't have to wait three more weeks…

"Draco!" she had suddenly had an idea.

"What?" he grumbled as she rushed into the living room.

"I was just thinking how awful it is that we have to wait another three weeks before we can go to Hogwarts," she started.

"Yeah, so what? Nothing we can do about it, you can't make time go faster," he was irritated that she had reminded him of his homework and then come and interrupted him when he was just getting into it.

"What if I wrote to Professor Dumbledore and asked him if it would be possible for us to come a week early? We are Head Boy and Girl, we should be allowed to get settled into our new positions, find out about our new privileges and responsibilities."

"Sure, probably," Draco said in clipped tones.

"Well fine then, obviously you don't care. I'll just go write the letter myself," Hermione huffed all the way back into her room.

Draco just looked after her dumbfounded. Sometimes that girl was so strange.

* * *

**I'm not even going to make excuses or promises this time. The last time I updated this story was in August. I really do want to finish it, I just have trouble motivating myself to write it. I've recently agreed to be a beta reader for a couple of different people. I was editing a story tonight and it made me want to update my own.**

**I had to reread the whole thing before I could write anything though, I honestly couldn't remember where I had left off. This chapter is really short, but I feel like the story is just about to get interesting, hopefully that will make it easier to write.**

**Huge thanks to all of you that reviewed the last chapter, I hope that some of you are still around to read this chapter **

**The song at the beginning of the chapter is I Hate Everything About You by Three Days Grace.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Isn't it weird_

_Isn't it strange_

_Even though we're just two strangers on this runaway train_

_We're both trying to find a place in the sun_

_We've lived in the shadows but doesn't everyone_

_Isn't it strange how we all feel a little bit weird sometimes_

* * *

It felt strange to Hermione to ride back to Hogwarts on an almost empty train. Dumbledore had replied to her letter almost immediately and told them to come to the school as soon as possible. She had mentioned in the letter that Draco was with her and Dumbledore felt that it was important to get them somewhere safe in case her post was being watched.

When she had told him, Draco had grumbled about how he was going to get into trouble because he hadn't finished all of his homework. She had told him that homework was probably the least of Dumbledore's worries about him right now.

* * *

*Two Days Earlier*

"Draco, I just got a reply from Dumbledore," Hermione said as she was making breakfast that morning.

"Already?" Draco groaned from the living room. "What did he say?"

"He said that we should get to the school as soon as possible, he's been worried about you."

"I just had a thought…" Draco said, stumbling half-asleep into the kitchen.

"What was that?" Hermione said with a smile.

"Has everyone been worried about me do you think? Is everyone at school going to know that I've left my father's house?"

"I doubt it," Hermione said, not looking up from the frying pan. "I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Profit and there hasn't been any mention of you or your father all summer. I think that Voldemort is keeping it really quiet, I'll bet even the other Slytherins don't know."

"I guess you're right, but how does Dumbledore know?"

"I'm sure Snape told him," she said.

"Snape…oh that makes sense," Draco said as his Godfather's true allegiance became completely known to him.

"But, oh my, this doesn't leave us much time to pack…and how are we going to get you from here to the train station?" Hermione began to think out loud.

Draco just sighed and waited for her to be done talking. It could take awhile.

* * *

*Present Time*

In the end they had had to disguise Draco very well to get him out of the flat and to the train station. Hermione had spent almost a whole day researching and looking up the transfiguration spells that they would need in order to alter his image. Even after all of that, it still made Draco nervous to have his enemy-turned friend pointing a wand at his face.

Draco remained in disguise even now as he lay sleeping on the wide seat across from her. She wished she had some company, but she didn't want to wake him. He had not slept well at all since the nightmares had started but he seemed peaceful now. This was probably the first sleep he had had in a week that was free of nightmares.

Hermione sighed. Even though she had done hours upon hours of research and had found a few things that seemed relevant, she was no closer to finding a way to help him. Nothing that she had found spoke of any kind of cure or even a way to slow down the progression. She had no idea how much time she had before Draco's mind crumbled completely. She just hoped that Professor Snape would be able to help her. She would need to find him as soon as they got to the school.

* * *

A few more quiet hours passed before the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station. The whistle blew and Draco was startled out of his deep sleep. He stretched his arms above his head and slowly opened his eyes. How long had he been sleeping for? He couldn't have slept the whole way to the school, could he? He wracked his brain but couldn't remember any nightmares or any dreams at all.

"Sorry I didn't wake you sooner, but I thought you deserved as much peaceful sleep as you could get," Hermione said softly from the other side of the compartment.

"No, thanks…It was refreshing to say the least," Draco said, rubbing his eyes with tight fists.

"Anyway, we should probably go," Hermione said awkwardly.

"Of course," Draco said, finally sitting up. He grabbed his things and followed Hermione out of the train.

"That looks so strange…" Hermione's voice trailed off and Draco saw what she was looking at. He saw a carriage with two thestrals harnessed to it a few feet in front of him. That wasn't what was strange. Usually there were enough carriages to carry all of the students (minus the first years of course) up to the school, today there was only one. It felt very odd to be traveling up to Hogwarts without the other students, especially during the middle of the day.

Draco opened the carriage door and gestured for Hermione to go in first. She smiled and settled herself onto the red velvet seat. He stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he had closed it, the rickety, old thing began the winding journey up the hill.

Draco watched Hermione gaze out the window, neither of them saying anything. A strange of her wavy, chestnut hair fell over her eyes and he had to fight the urge to reach forward and brush it away. He wanted to be able to look into her eyes. Suddenly, she turned to look at him and Draco quickly turned his face to look out his own window.

After a few more excruciating moments spent in utter silence, the carriage stopped in front of Hogwarts. This time Draco got out first, raising a hand to help Hermione out. She blushed when she saw him, but grasped his hand firmly as she stepped to the ground. He smiled when he realized that she wasn't letting go.

* * *

Severus was sitting in his study alone, as always. He knew that Draco and Hermione would be arriving any moment and that he would be able to speak with them both very soon. He was anxious. He wanted to see his godson with his own eyes. It had been a long summer and he wanted to be sure that he was alright.

He knew what the Dark Lord had done, but he had no more idea that Hermione did how to fix it. He hoped that between the two of them, they would be able to figure something out. Miss Granger had impeccable research skills, even he had to admit. He was looking forward to getting to the bottom of this.

He glanced at the clock over his fireplace for what must have been the one hundredth time. Soon, he told himself. Soon, they would arrive. He was about to glance at the clock again when he felt the stinging burn begin deep inside his forearm.

* * *

Hermione did not know what had possessed her to hold Draco's hand as they walked together into the school. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other since they had gotten off the train, but it didn't feel too awkward. She had caught him looking at her in the carriage and had noticed that he seemed a little nervous, like he was having some kind of war with himself. Whatever the reason, she had decided to keep her hold on his hand, just for the moment.

Draco opened one of the two wide doors that led into Hogwarts and they entered together. Professor McGonagall was standing at the top of the stairs and Hermione had a momentary flashback to her very first day at Hogwarts. She immediately dropped Draco's hand, not wanted her House Master to see their connection to each other.

"Hermione, Draco," McGonagall addressed them.

"Professor," they both said, nodding at her.

"We're all very glad that you two requested to come to the school early. It's always good for the Head Boy and Girl to get settled in and to learn the routine of things before the term starts. Normally, Draco, your Head of House would be here too, but Professor Snape had to run out for some emergency business," the older woman gave Hermione a knowing look. "If you'd both like to go to your regular dormitories to put your things away, perhaps we can meet back in the Great Hall in an hour to discuss your responsibilities this year."

Hermione and Draco both nodded at her and parted ways, Hermione towards the Gryffindor Tower and Draco towards the Slytherin Dungeons. Neither of them noticed the small smile the Minerva McGonagall had on her face as they walked away.

* * *

Severus had to struggle to get the scowl off of his face and to clear his mind as he entered the Dark Lord's chambers. Who knew how long he would be stuck here? Hermione and Draco would have to wait. He looked around him and saw that there were many Death Eaters already here. Voldemort must have called in all of the forces for this meeting. Everyone was probably surprised to be here, this meeting was unexpected after all. Most of them hid it well; only a few looked shifty and kept looking around to see who else had arrived.

After a few minutes, everyone was there. They all looked expectantly up at the Dark Lord, all of them hoping that they weren't in trouble. Voldemort looked down at them in silence for a moment before finally speaking. As usual there was no apology from him for having dragged them out of their daily lives.

"Now that you are all finally here we can begin this gathering," he sneered at them. "As you all know the Hogwarts school year will be beginning soon. We must come up with a plan to infiltrate the school as swiftly as possible. Draco Malfoy must be removed from the protective hands of Dumbledore."

Great, Snape thought, this was going to be a long meeting. There was no way that he wasn't going to have to play some part in the Dark Lord's latest plot. He rolled his eyes behind his mask and settled himself in.

* * *

Hermione strolled through the empty corridors of Hogwarts quickly. She wanted to get to the Gryffindor Tower as soon as possible. The empty hallways were disconcerting. She took the final steps towards to painting of the Fat Lady. She suddenly realized that she didn't know the password and she stopped flat in her tracks.

"Hello Hermione," the portrait said.

"Erm, hello. I'm sorry, I'm afraid that I don't know the password," she said quietly.

"That's because there isn't one yet," the Fat Lady laughed. "As Head Girl you make the passwords. So what will it be?"

Hermione thought for a moment before saying "Alohomora."

"Very clever," the portrait smiled. "The name of the spell that opens things," with a final grin she swung open to provide Hermione entrance into the empty tower.

* * *

Draco took his time getting down to the dungeons. He was in no hurry to enter an empty dormitory. The further he walked, the colder it got. The dungeons, of course, hadn't changed at all. He wondered again why old Salazar had wanted his House to be underneath the lake where it was freezing all year round, especially in the winter.

After many long, winding corridors Draco reached the Slytherin House's portrait. The snake was as bright and shining a green as he had ever seen and stood out from the forest that was painted smoothly behind it.

"What will you make the passssword, Head Boy?" it hissed at him menacingly.

"Valerian Roots," Draco said. The Slytherin passwords were often potions ingredients, so Draco named the first one that came to mind. The portrait swung open silently and Draco stepped inside the elegant, green and silver cloaked room.

* * *

Hermione didn't pause to look around the empty Common Room. She strode right through it and went straight up the stairs that led to the girls' dormitory. All of the beds were made, the whole room swept and polished by the house elves over the summer vacation. He bed was the farthest from the door, beside a window that faced towards the lake.

Hermione stopped for a moment to gaze out the window. The Hogwart's grounds were beautiful at this time of year. It was mid afternoon and the sun shone down directly over the lake. The light reflected back up to the window casting tiny rainbows onto the dark walls. The dark expanse of the Forbidden Forest could be seen beyond the shining lake. Hermione felt herself smile at the sight of the currently motionless Whomping Willow.

Finally she turned to began what she knew she had to do. She lifted the lid of her trunk and began to pull out and reorganize her things. The space that each student had was small so many of her things stayed inside the trunk. She placed her hair and tooth brushes inside one of the drawers on her bedside table along with a few books. She hung her best school robes on one corner of the four poster bed. She was done unpacking in only a few short minutes. Hermione glanced at her watch and sighed, she still had a lot of time to pass before she needed to go down to the Great Hall.

Hermione had never realized before the beginning of the summer how much she disliked being alone. She liked to do things by herself, but she liked to have people around that she could spend time with if she wanted to. The silence in the empty dormitory felt suffocating. Finally she got up from her bed and left the Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Unlike the Gryffindors, some of the wealthier Slytherins had their own rooms. Draco was certainly wealthy and he had had his own room since his second year. Also, unlike Hermione, Draco enjoyed being alone. If he was by himself he didn't have to worry about talking to other people and worrying about what he could and could not say to them.

When he entered his room he felt a sense of relief. He felt as if he were finally home. As a child he had always thought of Malfoy Manor as his home, but after starting at Hogwarts Draco knew that he belonged here more than he ever would with his Father. This was where he was meant to be, not at Malfoy Manor, not even at Hermione's. He sat down on his bed for a moment. He wanted a second to let Hogwarts sink back in before he began to unpack.

Draco remembered suddenly that he had told Hermione when he had first started staying with her that he wasn't planning on going back to Hogwarts. Thinking back, he couldn't believe that he had even thought about not coming back. It was his last year after all. He wouldn't get the chance to come back to Hogwarts after this unless he wanted to become a teacher or until he had his own children.

Finally Draco pulled himself from his thoughts and began to unpack his things. He had a ton of space in his room and didn't leave a single thing in his trunk. By the time he was ready to go down to the Great Hall his closet and all of his drawers were full. Draco shoved his huge trunk to the foot of his bed and walked back out through the Slytherin Common Room. He stepped out of the portrait hole and landed…right on top of a figure sitting against the wall in the dark, empty hallway.

"Oof!" the figure said.

"Hermione?" Draco asked, looking down at her. "What are you doing down here? Why aren't you upstairs unpacking still?"

"I finished packing forever ago and got bored sitting up there by myself," she sighed, getting up off of the dusty floor.

"How long have you been sitting out here?" Draco asked, trying to hide his smile.

"Not too long, it took me forever to find my way down here."

"Yeah, and it's a long walk back up to the Great Hall, we'd better get going," Draco said to her.

Hermione and Draco walked a little ways down the hall in silence. After a few moments Draco noticed that Hermione was shivering because of the cold temperature of the lake above them. Draco was used to being down here and he always dressed warmly when he was. He slipped off his thick cloak and draped it around her shoulders without saying a word. Hermione just smiled to herself and kept on walking.

* * *

**So that's the end of the chapter. I was originally planning on making it longer to try and make up for the last chapter (which was pretty short) but I want to get this posted and start the next chapter so I'm saving what was going to be the end of this chapter for the beginning of the next.**

**The song at the beginning is Weird by Hanson.**

**Please leave me a review if you have the time to let me know what you think. Special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (TheresNothingInside, Destiny, Readerforlife, serena's girl forever, and Lola P. Malfoy) you all get virtual cookies!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_You're falling back to me  
You're a star that I can see  
I know you're out there  
Somewhere out there  
You're falling out of reach  
Defying gravity  
I know you're out there  
Somewhere out there_

Draco and Hermione strolled into the Great Hall a few minutes later to find a few of their teachers waiting for them. Professor Dumbledore was there, of course, as well as Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout. All of the Heads, with the exception of Professor Snape who apparently wasn't done tending to his 'urgent business', were there.

The room was set up differently than it was during the school year. Since there were no students at the school over the summer, there was no need for the four house tables to be set up. Only the staff table at the far end of the room remained and it was smaller than usual because not all of the professors stayed at Hogwarts during the holidays. Draco and Hermione took their seats at the table and looked expectantly at Professor Dumbledore.

"As I'm sure Professor McGonagall has already told you, we are all very glad that you requested to come to the school early this year," he began.

"We were glad to be able to as well, Professor," Hermione said.

"I'm going to explain to you your responsibilities and privileges as Head Boy and Head Girl and then I'll answer any questions you may still have. Is that alright?" They both nodded. "Alright, as you both know, you are now allowed to take points from the students and to give detentions. Your decisions regarding this privilege are a matter for you own discretion. However, if any of the Professors think that your decision was too harsh, or not harsh enough, they can overrule it and change the punishment. Also, you are now permitted to enter any area of the school, including all of the House dormitories. You will need to know all areas of the school well as you will be doing rounds together four nights a week for two hours after curfew. Any questions so far?" Dumbledore paused.

"Is there a limit on how many points or detentions we can give to the students?" Draco asked.

"No, but as I stated before if any of the Professors feel the punishment is unfair, they may change it. This will stop either of you from playing favourites or targeting any particular students." Hermione began to open her mouth, but Dumbledore continued. "Not that I'm saying that either of _you_ would do such a thing."  
"Of course Professor," Draco said with only a hint of a smirk.

"Ok, moving on. You will also be allowed access to areas of the school that no one else is. While you both will remain in your House dormitories, there is a Head's Common Room and Bathroom that will be for you use only. You may be there at any time of day in order to ensure that you have enough time to get all of your work done as well as have personal time without interruptions. You will be allowed to walk from your House Common rooms to the Head's Common Room after curfew, but please don't take advantage of this privilege, you are not to be wandering the school at all hours of the night," Dumbledore said with a smile.

Over the course of the next hour, the professors explained everything to them. Hermione sat quietly and absorbed every word. She hadn't realized that there would be so much work! Not only would the two of them have to do eight hours worth of rounds every week, they would also have to run an hour long prefect's meeting every week as well as help keep track of all of the clubs that Hogwarts had to offer. She hadn't even thought about the clubs. They would be responsible for approving new clubs and posting sign-up sheets for existing ones. Hermione began to worry that she wouldn't be able to keep up with all her schoolwork.

Draco also sat quietly while the professors spoke, but not for the same reasons. He had tried to listen to Dumbledore, but soon after the headmaster had started speaking Draco had begun to feel a pounding headache come on. Hermione had found a potion that helped with the pain, but it had been working less and less over the last few days. He hadn't told her yet, he didn't want her to worry even more. He had pretended he was listening as best he could and had posed some comments and questions.

"Ok, I think that's everything," Professor Dumbledore finally said. At this point, it was all Draco could do to keep his eyes open. "If you two will just follow me, I'll show you where your Common Room is."

Hermione trailed right behind Dumbledore as he led them through the corridors of the school. Draco followed behind Hermione so that neither of them could see the grimace of pain on his face.

"I must apologize to you Hermione, the Common Room is much closer to the Slytherin dormitory than it is to the Gryffindor," Dumbledore said as he led them past the kitchen's portrait. They finally stopped outside a portrait of two crowns, one feminine and the other quite masculine. "There is no password," Dumbledore explained. "You must place the palm of your hand on the respective crown and the portrait will open."

Hermione reached out towards the painting, placing the palm of her hand on the more delicate of the two crowns. The painting felt soft and strange beneath her touch. As soon as she pulled her hand away the portrait swung open. Professor Dumbledore stepped inside and gestured for the two to follow him.

The Common Room was much smaller than a regular House Common Room, but much more space than they would need. There was a large fireplace as well as three couches, four chairs, and two low-resting tables. There was a winding staircase off of the centre of the room. Hermione assumed that it led to the bathroom.

"I'll leave the two of you alone to your thoughts now," Dumbledore smiled as he left the room.

As soon as the portrait was closed, Draco collapsed onto the nearest couch. He leaned forward and placed his head between his knees. Hermione could see that he was gasping for air, his hands clutching the soft material of the couch.

"Draco!" she yelled. "Is it a headache? When did it start?" He didn't answer at first, just gulped and tried to catch his breath.

"It's alright now," he said. "I was just trying to hold the pain in for too long."

Hermione frowned. She knew that he was lying.

* * *

When Severus arrived back at the school, hours later, he was exhausted. As usual, the Dark Lord had rambled on way longer than necessary. He had finally told Snape his assignment: track Draco and keep an eye on his symptoms. What a surprise, Snape thought to himself. The Dark Lord always had him doing the obvious.

Not only was he exhausted, he was irritated. All he had wanted to do was find Hermione and Draco and then go to sleep. Of course he couldn't just do that. He had to, as he always did after a meeting, go and speak with Albus first. He sighed to himself and walked towards the old Headmaster's office.

* * *

Hermione had left Draco alone in the Common Room after she was certain that he was feeling better. She hated to leave him after an episode like that, but she was just dying to get to the library. After weeks of having only her own books to pour over, she was ecstatic about the idea of having the whole Hogwarts library (including the restricted section now that she was Head Girl) at her fingertips.

She was even more pleased to see, upon entering the library, that Madam Pince wasn't there. She really would have free roam of the library, if only for a little while. Her fingers were almost tingling with excitement and anticipation as she made her way quickly to the restricted section.

She stepped over the rope that blocked it from the rest of the library. She smiled as she remembered all of the times she had snuck in here with Harry and Ron after hours to sneak peaks at books that had previously been forbidden. She raised a hand and trailed her index finger over the spines of the worn volumes on the shelves.

She smiled, it was nice to back on familiar ground.

* * *

Severus entered Dumbledore's office only a few minutes later. The Headmaster was seated behind his desk reviewing the list of first years that would be arriving the following week. Severus cleared his throat to alert Albus of his presence.

"Ah Severus, I've been expecting you. What's the news?"

"About what we thought it would be Albus," Severus said, taking a seat in front of Albus' desk. "The Dark Lord wants me to keep an eye on Draco, monitor his symptoms, that sort of thing."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"Well, I'm worried that if I tell him the truth, that his symptoms have not been too terrible, that he will repeat the attack. I think it might be best if I try to lie to him, make him believe that Draco is worse off than he is."

"Do you think it is wise to try and lie to him right now? Will you be able to make it believable?" Albus asked quietly. He knew that Severus had been more stressed lately than he would care to admit.

"I think that it would be worth taking the risk. We cannot play with Draco's mind, we cannot allow the Dark Lord to do anymore damage to it. I will have to lie and I am confident that I will be able to make it believable."

"Very well then Severus. You are free to go, I know that you are eager to see to other things," Albus said with a twinkle in his eye.

Severus was gone from the office almost before the Headmaster was done speaking.

* * *

Hermione stumbled down the hallway, her arms laden with books. She had taken as many books from the library as she could carry. She wanted to be able to do as much research as possible without having to go back to the library. She didn't want Madam Pince looking at her selections and wondering what she was up to.

She balanced her load on her knee and reaching towards the small crown in the portrait. She wobbled on her feet but did not fall over as the portrait swung open in front of her. She entered the room and heard the door softly shutting behind her. She slid the books out of her arms onto one of the tables.

The utter silence of the room led her to look around for Draco. She found him fast asleep on one of the couches. It was not a peaceful sleep as it had been on the train to Hogwarts. His face was contorted and his hands clenched at his sides. She sighed to herself and sat down in front of the table.

She was reaching for her third book when a soft knock came from the outside of the room. She had found a little bit of information by this point, but nothing particularly satisfying. She hadn't found a solution and anything less than that just wasn't good enough. Hermione sighed as she walked over to the portrait hole. She wasn't getting anywhere.

She opened the door to find the tall, dark figure of Severus Snape outside the door. He looked terrible. His hair was greasier than ever and there were deep purple circles under his eyes. He looked even worse than Draco, who hadn't slept properly for a month. Hermione suddenly realized the stress that all of this must have given the Potions Master.

Draco was his Godson, but Snape was also a Death Eater. Not only just a Death Eater, but one of the most trusted Death Eaters. He had all of this to deal with, as well as being a double agent for Dumbledore. The things that he had been putting up with the last few weeks suddenly made Hermione's researching seem like a simple task.

"Hello Professor, please come in," she said finally.

* * *

**AN: I know this chapter was really short and uneventful, probably not really worth the wait, but it was necessary. I wanted the conversation with Snape to wait until the next chapter, so that's why it ended here. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.  
**

**Please review to let me know what you think.**

**As always, thank you so much to those of you who reviewed. Your feedback and encouragement are what keeps me going.**

**Oh, and the song at the beginning of the chapter is Somewhere Out There by Our Lady Peace. Can you tell they're my favourite band?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_Wait, I'm coming undone._

_Irate, I'm coming undone._

_Too late, I'm coming undone._

_What looks so strong so delicate?

* * *

_

Snape looked awkwardly around the room for a moment before finally speaking. His eyes finally fell on Draco sleeping on the couch. When he opened his mouth Hermione could hear the exhaustion that she could see in his face in his voice.

"Does he always sleep like that now?" Snape said, gesturing to the grimace and clenched fists.

"Not always," Hermione said, thinking of the train. "Just most of the time."

Snape walked past Draco to sit on one the big armchairs. Hermione sat down across from him silently. "So how has your research been going?" he asked finally.

"Not well, I've found a bit of information, but nothing that really helps," she said sadly. "I found a potion that helped with the pain for a while, but that doesn't seem to be working so well in anymore."

"I might be able to find something," Snape told her.

"I'm so sorry Professor," Hermione blurted suddenly.

"What for?" Snape said feeling confused.

"For not being able to help Draco. You've been doing all of these things all summer and you are clearly under a lot of stress. I've been doing nothing but pouring over old books and I still haven't been able to do anything for him. I'm sure that he's getting worse and he has just stopped telling me because he doesn't want to worry me anymore. I just wish that I could help Draco like you are-"

"Stop right there Miss Granger. I don't know what you think I've been doing, but I assure you that I am even more useless than you are. I've spent most of my summer pacing back and forth in my room, doing nothing productive. I've tried to do some research of my own, but I cannot just come right out and ask the Dark Lord about this weapon, and he says nothing about it. I had hoped that you had gotten somewhere with your research. I'm not sure where we should go from here."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say. She had spent the last month hoping that when they got to Hogwarts, everything would get better. She thought that Snape would be able to do something to fix this. Now that she knew he had no better idea of what to do than she did, she was even more lost than before.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger, I know that is not what you wanted to hear. I'm not proposing that we give up though. If Draco is getting worse, we must work harder than even to beat this. We can't let the Dark Lord win. You've really found nothing in those books?"

"Nothing of any value, no. It seems like there are only a few cases of this, only a few that have been recorded anyway. No one else seemed to be able to figure out what to do either. All of the victims went crazy and ended up dying. Some of them didn't even last as long as Draco has."

"Well, the Dark Lord invented this weapon himself, we're going to have to do what he did."

"What's that Professor?"

"We're going to have to think like he did."

* * *

After Professor Snape had left Hermione went back to the books. She had gotten so many from the library, there had to be something there. After another two hours of searching she finally stopped. She was so disappointed. She had never had a research problem that the Hogwarts library couldn't fix. Feeling discouraged and let down, she closed her final book.

She leaned away from the soft material of the armchair and placed her head in her heads. She felt so overwhelmed. Before she knew it she felt hot tears streaming down her face. It wasn't fun fair. It just wasn't fair. Why did this have to happen now? This was supposed to be the best year of her life and now this. Draco was finally changing into a better person and then this disaster happens.

"Hermione?" Draco's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just fine," she said swiping at the tears still on her cheeks.

"No you aren't," Draco said, rising from the couch and coming over to her.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just disappointed. I couldn't find anything in the library that would help," she said.

"This is all my fault," Draco suddenly put his arms around her, pulling her close.

They sat that way in silence for a few moments, both too deep in thought to speak. Draco stroked Hermione back until her tears stopped. He mumbled "I'm sorry" into her hair a few times before finally pulling back. When he did Hermione felt even more cold and alone than she had before.

"We should go get some dinner," she said quietly.

"What?" Draco said confused.

"It's late, we should get something to eat," she said standing up.

* * *

Hermione had been right, it was late. It was too late to go to the Great Hall to have dinner with the Professors. They walked the short distance from their Common Room to the kitchen. Upon entering they were immediately approached by a small elf with a pile of hats towering far above his head.

"Dobby welcomes you back to Hogwarts most cordially friend of Harry Potter!" Dobby said, throwing his arms around Hermione.

"Oh, Dobby, we just came down to have a late dinner-"

Suddenly Dobby caught sight of Draco and he seized Hermione's knees. "Oh Hermione Granger, a very bad man has sneaked down here after you. Dobby will get rid of him for you!"

Before Hermione could say or do anything, Dobby grabbed a rolling pin a gone at Draco with it. He had hit him twice in the shins and once in the stomach before Hermione was able to stop him. She grabbed the little elf around the waist and pulled him back.

"Dobby, stop it," she hissed. "Draco is my friend now. He isn't living with his father anymore. He's not bad anymore."

Dobby still didn't look convince as he lead them over to a small table in the corner. The two sat down and were immediately brought plates of piping hot, deliciously smelling, food. As soon as the elves had left them alone, Hermione burst out laughing.

"You think it's funny, do you? Watching me get my ass kicked by an elf?" Draco exclaimed.

"No," Hermione said, still laughing. "I think it's hilarious!"

Draco huffed and turned back to his plate. Suddenly he was starving. The two ate their meals quickly and left the kitchen. Hermione waved goodbye to Dobby, promising to bring Harry down to the kitchens after he arrived at the school the following week.

"Do you want to take a walk around the lake?" Draco asked after the portrait closed behind them.

"It's rather late, you should get some sleep."

"It's not that late. Besides, I slept all evening, I'm not that delicate."

Hermione smiled up at him as he took her hand and lead her outside. They walked out a back entrance. It wouldn't do for the Head Boy and Girl to get caught outside after curfew before the year even started.

"Wow, what a beautiful night," Hermione said when they were outside. And it was. It was a true summer night the sky was clear and was practically bursting with stars. It was warm and the moonlight reflected off the lake.

"Come on, I want to show you something," Draco said, still holding onto her hand.

Hermione walked with him along the side of the lake. They didn't stop until they reached the far side of the lake. They were right next to the forest when Draco turned to her.

"We have to go in the forest."

"Draco, I don't know about that…"

"It's ok, it's not too far in. Just trust me."

They had to step over a few large rocks before they could pass through the trees. This was probably to discourage students from going into the forest. Draco led her over the sharp rocks as if he had done it a thousand times. It was pitch once they had passed the first line of trees. They both lit their wands so that they could see in front of them.

"It's right through here…" Draco said, holding a tree branch back above Hermione's head.

"Draco, was this really necessary? I mean, it's practically the middle of the night. There are a lot of things-" Hermione cut herself off as she looked around her.

They had entered a tiny clearing in the thick brush. In the centre of the empty space sat one massive tree. A huge part of the old tree had rotted away, leaving most of the bottom of the trunk hollow. Draco walked towards the tree while a shocked Hermione stood back. The tree appeared to still be alive, very much so in fact, considering how much of it's trunk had deteriorated.

Hermione stumbled forward after Draco, not wanting to be left alone in the woods. He had walked inside the tree. The hollow trunk was high enough for her to walk in without ducking her head. Once she was inside she saw Draco pull out his lighter and light the few candles that were melted into the large roots.

"How…?" Hermione started.

"I found this place at the beginning of my fourth year. It's hard being a smoker at Hogwarts, I had to find somewhere to go."

"Is it safe?" Hermione said, looking up into the trunk of the tree. It didn't seem like there was enough trunk left to hold up the giant branches.

"Of course it is. I wouldn't be sitting under here if there was a possibility of something falling a messing up my hair." Draco said with a smile.

"Oh, of course, I should have known," Hermione said sarcastically.

"No really. I used to come out here every night. I never told anyone. There was never anyone that I could trust enough to share it with."  
"Why are you showing me this?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I wanted to try and show you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me this summer. You let me come into your home even after I was awful to you for so many years. You let me come back even after I ran off on you. You didn't hold it against me after I tried to kiss you, even though it was so obvious that you didn't want anything to do with me in that way. You've been doing research all summer, even though you haven't found anything that will give you hope that this thing can be fixed."

"Draco stop, you're wrong," Hermione said softly.

"You found something that might fix this?" Draco asked with a sliver of hope.

"No, you're wrong about that kiss. I did have feelings for you. I still do. I've wanted to kiss you ever since but I was just so embarrassed after that night. I knew it was too late now. You wouldn't want me after that."

"Hermione, you're the one that's wrong now. So wrong…"

Draco leaned forward then and pressed his lips to hers. Her reaction was immediate. She leaned towards him and brought her hands to that back of his head. Hermione was incapable of forming a complete thought. All she could think of was the heat of his lips on her own. As she twisted her fingers into his hair she felt that heat spreading into her chest.

Draco felt her lean towards him and put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. He had waited so long for this. After that night when he had kissed her the first time he had been so sure that she didn't want to be anything more than friends. He had given up; he had shown her this private place in hopes of gaining her trust, in hopes of proving to her just how much she meant to him.

Hermione had kissed a few boys in her time, but never like this. Draco snaked his tongue into her mouth and she forgot her own name. It seemed as though there had been nothing before this kiss and there could be nothing after. The kiss had started softly, more tender than she would have expected from Draco but had soon turned into something more urgent. It was almost as if they felt that they had to make up for the time they lost walking on eggshells around each other.

Draco found himself lost in the scent of Hermione's hair. It was something familiar…lavender and vanilla? He didn't know and he didn't care, the smell was intoxicating. It made him forget about his father, Voldemort and everything else that was wrong with the world. He gripped her hips and pulled her even closer to him. She was practically sitting on him now.

Suddenly a noise from the distant forest brought them back down to earth. The both just looked at each other, gasping for air. Hermione slid her arms out of his hair and onto his shoulders. Draco slid his arms all the way around her waist and pulled her into a hug.

"I didn't know," was all he said.

"I can't believe we could have been doing that for the last month and we were wasting time arguing," Hermione said laughing.

"There was no pain," Draco said softly.

"What?" Hermione said, looking up at him.

"While I was kissing you, I forgot about the pain and it went away."

"And now?" Hermione said, finally pulling away and sitting on the tree stump across from him.

"Now it's back," Draco said, leaning over suddenly.

"Draco? Draco!" Hermione said urgently as he began to lose consciousness.

* * *

Severus sat in front of his fireplace having a late night drink. There was nothing like firewhiskey for clearing a man's thoughts. He had spent hours pondering The Situation, as he was now referring to it as in his head. He was no closer now to knowing what to do than he had been this morning before he went to go and see the Dark Lord.

He knew that he would have to go and see Voldemort soon to tell him what was happening. He would tell him that Draco's condition was progressing quickly, his mind was deteriorating and that there would be no need to repeat the attack. It pained him to know that there would not be much lying required telling the Dark Lord this.

"Damn it all to Hell!" he said, standing up and throwing what was left of his drink into the fire.

He sunk back into his chair and watched the flames as they rose up higher and then fell. He sighed as he conjured up another glass, pouring the last of a previously full bottle into it. He was just about to gulp it down when he heard a loud banging on his door.

* * *

Ginny paced her bedroom furiously. Harry and Ron would be returning in the morning and she still didn't know if she was going to say anything to them about Hermione and Malfoy. Harry was her boyfriend and Ron the closest of all of her brothers. She wasn't used to keeping anything from either of them.

She knew that she really should tell them that their arch enemy was living with their best friend. On the other hand, Hermione did seem to have almost legitimate reasons for keeping him their. If what Malfoy said was true (which was hard to believe), he had left his father and his previous lifestyle. As much as she didn't want to believe that, the attack that had come while she was there seemed to prove it.

Hermione couldn't have thrown him out after that, she was too nice. Ginny wanted to pull her hair out, why did Hermione have to be such a good person? On the other hand, just because he was living there, didn't mean that they would become friends, let alone anything more. When Ginny was there, they seemed to tolerate each other but were by no means best friends. How much could really change in just a few weeks?

* * *

AN – I know it's been two months since I've updated, but life's been crazy busy, in a good way! I'm glad to be able to write again though. I've been having some serious writer's block and was glad to be able to sit down and pound out this whole chapter in one night.

I hope you guys are happy with it, you finally got some of the much anticipated Draco/Hermione love!

The song at the beginning is Coming Undone by Korn

Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, you all encourage me to keep going.

Next chapter: everyone else comes to Hogwarts.

Please review and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_And I find it kind of funny_

_I find it kind of sad_

_The dreams in which I'm dying_

_Are the best I've ever had_

_I find it hard to tell you_

_I find it hard to take_

_When people run in circles_

_It's a very very_

_Mad world_

_Mad world

* * *

_

Severus stood up slowly and walked cautiously to the door. Who would be coming to see him this late at night? He though about not opening the door and just going straight to bed, but that knocking was insistent. He pushed open the heavy metal door to find Hermione standing in the darkened corridor.

"I'm sorry, I know its late Professor. He just collapsed and I didn't know what else to do."

Snape saw Draco levitating behind her and looked around the hallway. "Did anyone see you on your way here?"

"No Sir."

"Good, come in," he said, closing the door firmly behind them.

Hermione slowly placed Draco onto the couch and turned to Snape.

"Now what?" she said.

Severus walked over to the boy and began to mutter spells under his breath.

"Professor?" Hermione said.

Snape raised a hand in her direction and she fell silent. She didn't know what to do, she had to trust that he did. She slumped down into the chair that Snape had been sitting in before she had started pounding the door. She saw the empty firewhiskey bottle but paid no attention to it, her eyes were on Draco.

"He's going to be alright," the dark man finally said.

"You're certain?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Yes. What were the two of you doing out at this time of night anyway?"

Hermione felt her face flush and she quickly looked down at the cold stone floor. She could not look Snape in the eye and tell him that they had been snogging in the woods!

"Miss Granger?"

"Well, you see Professor…"

* * *

Ginny had decided that she was going to tell her brother and Harry about the situation with Draco. She knew that Hermione only meant well, but her kindness sometimes left her blinded. Hermione was very smart but Ginny knew that Draco was almost her equal in school. He may very well be manipulating her, taking advantage. Ginny didn't know how to take care of this problem on her own and something had to be done.

She hopped off her bed the instant that she heard the front door open, disrupting a few of her stuffed animals. She didn't even bother to stop and fix them as she ran for the stairs. She was ready to open her mouth and tell them as she walked into the kitchen. She did not get the chance though, as soon as she stepped off the bottom step she was tackled. It took her a moment to realize that it was Harry.

"Oh Ginny! I missed you so much, the trip was amazing though! You should have come with us, we saw so many things and the Quidditch game, don't even get me started! Ron and I have so much to tell you!"

It looked like Ginny might have to give Hermione a chance to tell them after all. It didn't look like she would be getting the opportunity any time soon. She plastered a smile on her face as Ron called her over to the table. It was going to be a long week before school started.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight, after you and Draco finished your…business, he said that he hadn't felt any pain? But, of course, right after you were done it came back worse that usual?" Snape had a slightly amused look on his face that he did not try to hide.

"Yes Sir, that's exactly what happened," Hermione said, feeling mortified.

"That's interesting…" Snape said, suddenly deep in thought.

"How is that interesting?" Hermione said eager to know what he was thinking.

"Well, it's just that, up until this point you have found nothing that was effective at stopping the pain? You did find a potion that worked for a while, but not for long?" Hermione nodded. "And now, the two of you show your feelings for each other and the pain goes away?"

"Well sure, but Professor, you can't be saying that something as simple as snogging can make this Dark Magic go away."

"That's not what I'm saying at all Miss Granger. I'm saying that something far simpler than we think could cause the spell to break."

Hermione just looked at him in a confused silence. Since when were things at Hogwarts ever simple?

* * *

Ginny loved Quidditch as much as the next person, but if she had to hear one more word about Joey Jenkins and the Bludger he had hit at Brevis Birch or the amazing formation looping of the Sumbawanga Sunrays she was going to scream.

"Ginny, I still cannot believe that you sat here alone all summer while we were at the Quidditch Convention of the century!" Ron exclaimed. "Did you go and see Hermione at all over the summer? We tried to write a few times, but everything was just so crazy and we were so busy, we didn't really get the chance to." Ron said, looking guilty.

"Well actually," Ginny started to say before she was interrupted by Harry.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the finale!" Harry said. "The Woollongong Warriors beat the Thundelarra Thunderers! You know how competitive those two teams are!"

Ginny shut her mouth and settled in for what she knew would be at least a few more hours of Quidditch recap.

* * *

Hermione was finally up in her dorm in her warm bed. Shortly after Snape's strange comments Draco had woken up and announced that he wanted to go to his dorm and go to sleep. Snape had agreed with this idea more enthusiastically than Hermione thought the man capable of. He seemed very pleased to have the two of them out of his way.

Hermione's thought began to drift, for what must have been the hundredth time in the last hour, to what Professor Snape had said to her just before Draco had woken up. Maybe the antidote for this curse was simpler than she had thought. She didn't know what exactly this meant, but she hoped that he was right. She had spent so much time pouring over complicated spell books that she thought it was about time for something easy.

Of course, this new idea of a simple fix hadn't stopped her from going to the library again. After she had walked Draco back to his dorm she had slipped back into the Restricted Section and pulled out a few more obscure books in the hopes of finding something. Hermione fell asleep that night as she had many nights before: with her face on top of a book.

* * *

As soon as Draco and Hermione had left, Severus had sat back down in his arm chair. He couldn't believe he was even entertaining this idea. He couldn't believe he had almost suggested such an idea to Hermione. There was no way that love could be the answer to this. As much as many people would like to believe it, love is not always the answer.

Although he knew this, the thought had still come to mind. As soon as Hermione had told him what they had been doing in the woods and he realized that this was really a first time thing for them he had begun to wonder. Did the two teens love each other? Could something as simple as love really foil the Dark Lord? Severus didn't really think so, but he knew he would have to test this.

He cringed at the thought of having to test it. The last thing he wanted to do was ask two hormonal teenagers to snog in front of him to test some insane theory that he had come up with when he was half drunk. He knew that he would have to think about this more in the morning when he was sober. If this had to be tested, he was going to let them do it during their own time.

Severus sighed and reached for his bottle of firewhiskey. After all of those thoughts and the hour that he had just had, he really deserved a drink. He cursed and stormed into his bedroom upon realizing that the previously full bottle was completely empty. Now he was going to have to make a trip into Hogsmeade tomorrow.

* * *

The next week passed more quickly than Hermione would have thought to be possible. She spent all of her spare time with Draco, but they didn't do much. They walked around the grounds of the school and even went back to his hollow tree. They held hands but did not do anything more because they were afraid of the reaction that Draco might have to it. Hermione stayed up late each night and tried to continue her research, but of course had found nothing.

Neither one of them saw Professor Snape for the remainder of the week. On one hand, this made Hermione angry because she wanted his help. On the other hand, she was glad that she didn't have to see him. She could not get his amused face out of her head every time she thought of that night when she had told him about their first real kiss. She knew that he was busy and that he was probably working even harder than she was. He had to have gone to see Voldemort by now and Hermione knew how much work it must be for Snape to lie to the Dark Lord.

Almost before she knew it, it was the final night before school began. She and Draco had just finished a long walk around the lake. They had spent most of the time in silence, speaking up only to point out a star or hiding animal to the other. As they walked back towards the school Hermione spoke softly to him.

"Are you going to be up to it?"

"Up to what?" Draco asked, startled by the break in the silence.

"Putting on a brave face and going about your business when school starts? We're going to be very busy between our duties and the workload of our seventh year," Hermione explained.

"I've never not been able to do anything that I set my mind too," Draco said, butting out his cigarette as they came to the doorway. "I'm sure I'll be able to this time as well," he lied.

* * *

The next morning, Draco woke with a start. He couldn't remember the dream but he could tell from the pounding headache that it had been another nightmare. Most of the time he didn't remember the dreams and when he did, he wished that he hadn't. As he sat up the pain in his head only got worse. He could see dark spots floating in front of his face and he put his head down and blinked quickly until they disappeared. He was thankful again that he had a private room.

He got dressed slowly and turned towards his mirror. Looking in the mirror was something that he had strongly avoided the last few weeks. He knew that he must look terrible. As a person whose appearance had once been very important to him, it was hard to give up on it. He wanted to at least try to look normal on the first day of his seventh year.

When he finally faced himself only one word came to his mind. A word that his father had used many times. Weak. That's how he looked and that's what he was. His hair hung limply down to his shoulders, had it really gotten that long? The deep hollows around his eyes had become like a bruise, glaring and purple. His eyes which he had always thought of as silver now looked a dull grey. His robes didn't look right around his frame and he realized with a start that he had lost a fair amount of weight. When was the last time he had really had an appetite? The last real meal he could remember eating was in the kitchens on that first night with Hermione.

He knew that he could not appear this way in front of his classmates. He pulled out his wand and tried to do something about his hair. A few minutes later it was a little shorter and hung neatly around his head. Next he started on his eyes. There was nothing he could do about the dull colour, but after a few spells he had managed to get the purple bags do disappear. Finally, he shrunk down his robes so that they didn't hang off of him like he was a ghost. Now looking in the mirror wasn't quite as painful.

Draco looked at the clock, he had slept in pretty late but he still had a fair amount of time to kill before the other students would be arriving for the feast that evening. He pulled the green comforter up and folded his silk pajama bottoms up on top of his pillow before finally leaving the room.

He knew where he would be able to find Hermione. Whenever he wasn't around she was still pouring over books trying to find a way to help him. She thought that he didn't know, but he did. He wished that she wouldn't hide things from him, now that they were together (sort of). On the other hand, he had been trying to hide his worsening pain from her for a while, so he guessed that he deserved it.

As he had expected he found Hermione leaned over a book in the Heads' Common room. It took him a few moments of staring at her to realize that she was sleeping. Staring at her still form brought him back to the night before when he was telling her goodnight at the entrance to his dormitory.

"You know you really didn't need to walk me all the way down here. I wasn't going to collapse or anything," he had said to her.

"I just want to make sure that you're alright before I leave you for the night," she said sadly. "I'm scared of something happening to you when I'm not there."

"I'm fine," he said. "Really, don't worry."

She had still looked sad so he had leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead, just below her hairline. Even in that brief instant, as it had been on that first night, the pain vanished, only for a second. He remembered gasping a small sigh of relief.

"What's wrong? Is it your head?" Hermione asked immediately.

"No, the pain was gone, while I was kissing you."

Hermione had just smiled at him before turning and walking towards the stairs that would eventually lead her back to her own silent dorm room.

Staring at her now Draco remembered how it felt to be consumed by Hermione and the pain faltered slightly. He sat silently on the couch across from her and found that just by looking at her he was able to forget the pain, if only for a few minutes.

* * *

A few hours later Hermione awoke to find Draco sitting across from her completely absorbed in one of her books.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Finally," he huffed, throwing the book down. "It's about time you woke up!"

"Hey, be careful with that book!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's very old!"

"It's just paper," Draco said giving her a strange look.

"If you were so bored, why didn't you wake me up?" Hermione said, feeling grumpy.

"I was reading."

"Oh, you were enjoying it were you? I thought it was 'just paper'?"

"No, I just had nothing better to do," he said stubbornly.

"Oh Draco," she said, shaking her head at him.

"What?" he said angrily.

"Nothing, lets go down to the Great Hall and see if we can help set anything up. The rest of the students will be getting here soon."

* * *

A few hours later Hermione was seated at the Gryffindor table looking across at Draco, the only student at the Slytherin table. When he saw her looking at him, he waved. He seems to be looking better, she thought. He must have finally looked in the mirror, she thought with a smile. Before she had time to think of anything else, the students began to arrive.

The first person she saw enter was Ginny. Ginny immediately caught her eye and followed her gaze over to Draco. The smile dropped from Hermione's face and she saw the anger in Ginny's eyes. She would definitely have some explained to do with that girl later. Next she caught sight of Ron and Harry and her face broke out into another huge grin. As soon as the boys saw her they quickened their pace and were beside her in seconds.

"Oh Hermione, we missed you so much!" Ron said.

"Oh yeah?" she said. "Then how come you didn't write?"

The smile dropped from Ron's face. "Well…We…we were going to but-"

"I'm just kidding Ron, relax. I know I can't expect you guys to be thinking about me when you're surrounded by Quidditch. It's not like I spent the summer sitting around! I kept busy to you know. It's a lot of work living on your own."

"I'll bet it was," she heard Ginny mumble under her breath.

"What was that Ginny?" Harry said.

"Nothing Harry. Why don't you guys tell Hermione about Joey Jenkins and that Bludger?"

* * *

Across the Hall Draco was receiving a greeting that was not quite so warm and friendly. Clearly all of the Slytherins had heard what had happened over the summer. Draco could tell this instantly on account of the fact that they were all _glaring _at him. Even Crabbe and Goyle must have had the situation explained very clearly to them because they were trying to send their best sneers in Draco's direction.

Draco didn't mind though. It was much quieter and peaceful to have none of the Slytherins speaking to him. Especially Pansy. Draco caught her glance out of the corner of his eye and was surprised that his hair hadn't caught on fire. He quickly turned his attention to the group of first years waiting at the front of the room. He figured that now that he was Head Boy he should at least make an effort to know at least half of their names.

"Agglio, Tobias," Professor McGonagall was saying.

A small boy with jet black hair and big round eyes approached the stool. She placed the hat on his head and it cried out "Hufflepuff!" Cheers erupted from their table as the skittish boy took his seat.

Almost an hour later Draco had completely lost count and track of all of the new students' names. He had tried, he really did. He was pretty sure that he remembered the nine, or was it ten…students who had been placed into Slytherin. To be honest, just thinking about it was making him dizzy. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that Dumbledore was speaking until he heard his name.

"…Draco Malfoy and Head Girl Hermione Granger will be patrolling the hallways at night now, so be careful. Don't fool yourselves into thinking that there are any places in the school that you can hide from these two, I'm sure they know the school better than any of you, thanks to their own late night trysts from years passed."

Draco could see Hermione blushing in her seat between Potter and Weasley from across the room. It wasn't long after that that the plates in front of them filled with food. At first Draco didn't make a move towards any of it, but then he remembered the gaunt look of his body from the mirror that morning and he reached forward.

* * *

"Hermione, this is just great that you're Head Girl. That means that Harry and I can go out whenever we want after hours and not get in trouble!"

"Don't even think about it Ronald! I don't want to take points from Gryffindor, but I will if I have to so don't let me catch you out of your bed!"

"Yeah Ron, you're going to need your beauty sleep anyway!" Ginny said and they all laughed as Ron's ears turned bright red.

It felt strange for Hermione to be laughing and joking around like usual with her friends after everything that had happened in the past few months. She looked across the room at Draco, who was clearly being glared at by every single Slytherin (except the new first years) and felt even stranger. She decided then that she didn't want to feel the stress. She would laugh and have fun with her friends for now and deal with all of her other issues later on. She smiled knowing that in a few hours she would be alone with Draco walking the hallways while they did their rounds.

* * *

After the feast was over all of the Slytherins disappeared out of the Great Hall very quickly. Draco was about to do the same when he realized that he was being watched. He turned around to discover ten first years staring up at him expectantly.

"What are you lot staring at?" he barked at them. They all jumped back a step.

"Aren't you going to show us to the dorm?" one of them squeaked.

"Oh right, sure," Draco said. "Follow me then."

He strode out of the Hall quickly and smiled as he heard the first years scrambling along behind him. Even with all of his other problems, it felt good to be in charge. Once into the Entrance Hall he noticed Hermione, still with Potter and Weasley, with her own cluster of first years huddled around her. She opened her mouth to say something to him and then glanced at her two friends. Draco spoke up before she had a chance.

"What are you staring at Mudblood? Meet me in the Common Room after this so we can get those stupid rounds over with."

Hermione just gaped at him for a minute before hurrying up the stairs with a trail of scared-looking first years running along behind her.

* * *

Ok, so that's the end of chapter 11. I hope you guys enjoyed it and the next chapter will hopefully be along soon.

Thank you all for your reviews of the last chapter. Please review this one to let me know what you thought. Reviews make me smile :)

The song at the beginning is Mad World by Tears For Fears. If you haven't heard this song I suggest you look it up or download it because it is amazing. I would actually suggest the Gary Jules version or the version Adam Lambert sang on American Idol. It is a very moving song.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

_I walked around my good intentions_

_And found that there were none_

_I blame my father for the wasted years_

_We hardly talked_

_I never thought I would forget this hate_

_Then a phone call made me realize _

_I'm wrong_

_And if I don't make it know that_

_I've loved you all along_

_Just like sunny days that_

_We ignore because _

_We're all dumb and jaded_

_And I hope to God I figure out_

_What's wrong

* * *

_

Draco felt awful for calling Hermione a mudblood in front of everyone, but he hoped that she knew that he hadn't meant it. He didn't want anyone to think that they were getting along any better than usual and he felt guilty for it. He wanted to have this new life, but he couldn't have Hermione for a friend.

It was really more for her benefit than his. He knew that she wasn't ready to tell anyone about them yet, so he would play along even if it meant hurting her feelings in public. On the hand, it had paid off for him too, the first years looked more terrified than ever. Draco smiled to himself as he led them down the stairs and into the cold dungeon.

It took him nearly an hour to get them all settled in. They were all curious about the portrait hole and he had to remind them not to forget the password about a million times. Then, one of the first years had wandered into the wrong dorm and starting having a panic attack when she realized that her things hadn't been brought down to the dungeon. The first year was chased back into their proper dorm by a screeching Pansy Parkinson.

By the time Draco finally made his way to the Heads' Common Room he had an absolutely pounding headache. He reached the large room before Hermione did, it would figure that she would make absolutely certain that the first years were settled in before coming down to meet him.

When he entered the room, the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't alone. Professor Snape was sitting on one of the couches with a bored look on his face. The greasy professor didn't look particularly happy to see Draco even though he had obviously been waiting for him.

"Professor?" Draco said upon entering the room.

"Draco, I've been trying to put it off, but I have a theory that I need tested."

* * *

"You want us to what?" Hermione cried a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger, but after what you told me the other night I've been thinking more and more that this could lead us to some kind of cure."

"Even if it does, how will it work, it's not like the two of us can go around snogging all day long," Hermione said with her face beat red.

"Why not?" Draco said.

Hermione smacked him on the arm. Truth be told, she had thought about this herself over the last few nights. Draco had said that he had not felt any pain while they were kissing. They had not kissed again since that night, so that had not been able to test this theory up until this point.

"I have an idea," Professor Snape pointed out.

"Another one?" Hermione said. "I hope I like this one better than your last idea."

"Go out, do your rounds and then come back here after. Test my…theory without me around and let me know how it went tomorrow."

Snape left the room then and for the second time in a week he had to hide a grin from the two teenagers.

"Just great, that's just what I've always wanted," Hermione muttered. "Professor Snape knowing all about my love life."

"Come on, lets get these stupid rounds over with," Draco said a bit too eagerly.

They went out into the hall and walked in silence for a few minutes before Hermione said anything.

"Why did you call me a mudblood earlier?" she asked in a small voice.

"Merlin Hermione, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. It's just, I know you don't want your friends to know about us so I figured I should say something rude and it just came out. It won't happen again."

"Good, I don't want you calling me that ever."

Suddenly Draco slowed his steps. "Did you hear that?"

Hermione stopped too and listened carefully. She could definitely hear footsteps around the corner. She put her finger to lips and pulled out her wand, motioning for Draco to follow along behind her. The came around the corner and came across two Slytherin fifth years.

"Seriously guys, you snuck out on the first night?" Hermione asked.

"Hey look, it the traitor and the mudblood," one of them sneered.

"Twenty points from Slytherin," Hermione said.

One of the boys' smiles faltered slightly but the other one kept going with his insults.

"Hey Malfoy, I heard you ran away from Daddy. What's wrong, you couldn't handle being rich anymore?"

"Fuck you, you little…" Hermione grabbed Draco by the arm and he stopped his sentence short. "Twenty more points from Slytherin."

"Are you kidding me? You're taking points from your own house? There really is something wrong with you…"

"Do you want to make it fifty?"

The quiet boy shook his head and started pulling on his friends arm. "Let's just go back to the dungeons," he said.

"No, this little traitor needs to learn how to treat the rest of us who are loyal," the other boy hissed.

The mouthy boy pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at Draco. Draco may have been feeling terrible and not performing up to his usual standards, but he was still one of the best duelers in the school. The boy was disarmed before he even had a chance to open his mouth.

"Get to bed Mortenson," Draco yelled at him.

Finally Mortenson's friend was able to pull him away towards the Slytherin dormitory. Hermione glared after them.

"Really? Sneaking out on the first night, only Slytherins would do that," she said.

"Are you sure about that? You don't think Potter and Weasley are probably out here right now?"

"I don't know, but even if they were we would probably never catch them," Hermione said with a smile, continuing down the corridor.

* * *

Two hours later the two of them were sitting back in their Common Room. They hadn't come across any more students and they counted themselves lucky that they hadn't come across Peeves either. They didn't want any pranks pulled on them on the first night.

"So, are we going to test that theory of Snape's?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh honestly! Men!" Hermione said grabbing him by the collar of his robes and pulling him towards her. She planted her lips firmly on his. Draco was so shocked that for a moment he didn't move. He instantly found himself so absorbed with Hermione that he didn't feel any pain. It wasn't that it was really gone, more that with her kissing him he just completely forgot it was there because he couldn't think of anything besides her.

He reached behind her head and pulled the elastic out of her hair, letting it fall free around her shoulders. He placed his hand on her lower back and maneuvered her so that she was lying back on the couch with him on top of her.

"Thought you could take charge did you woman? He teased

Hermione's only response was to bite his bottom lip. Draco let out a groan from deep in his throat and clenched his hand on her thigh squeezing the supple flesh that he found there. He moved his lips from her mouth and kissed his way down to her throat. Hermione threw her head back exposing her neck to him. He kissed and nibbled on the skin in the hollow of her throat and she moaned. Draco slowly moved back to her mouth. He twined his free hand with hers and pushed it back into the material of the couch above her head.

"Draco…" Hermione murmured. "Stop for a second. Is the pain gone?" she asked.

Draco reluctantly pulled away. "It was, it's coming back now," he said breathing deeply.

"Just lay still for a moment, see if it passes," she told him.

"Hang on for a second, just let me think," he said pressing a hand to his forehead. The pain had been gone, utterly and completely. Now that they were no longer kissing he found the pain creeping back. The question was, was the pain leaving because of Hermione? Was Snape's theory right? It didn't seem like a coincidence that would happen twice.

"It's like, when I'm kissing you, I can't think of anything else. My mind can't handle both things at once so the pain is pushed away," Draco mumbled as he begun to fall asleep.

"Shh, we'll talk about it tomorrow," Hermione said, squeezing out from underneath him. As soon as she was sure he was asleep she stood up and left the room. She had to go and see Professor Snape right away.

* * *

Severus sat in his office waiting for Hermione to come and meet him. He had arranged before the feast for her to meet him in his office. He didn't think it would be appropriate for her to meet him in his chambers, especially with all of the other students being in the castle now. Severus looked at the clock, she should be here any minute now.

Five more minutes trickled by before he heard a soft knocking on the door. He picked up his wand and flicked it at the door. It swung open to reveal a flushed Hermione standing behind it. She hurried into the room and he shut the door behind her. He looked at her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked when she didn't say anything.

"It worked," she said.

"So my theory was correct," he mused.

"I'm not so sure Professor."

"What?" he lifted his eyes to meet hers. "You just said that it worked."

"I did, but I'm not so sure that love is the answer here sir. Love can solve a lot of problems and help a lot of people, but I don't think that is what has happened."

"Please tell me Miss Granger," Snape drawled impatiently. "What you think is happening here."

"Well, Draco said it himself Sir, on the first night and again tonight before he fell asleep. When he is kissing me he _forgets_ about the pain. He said tonight that it is almost as if his brain cannot process both things at once."

"He forgets," Snape stated dryly. "Miss Granger, how can one forget about excruciating pain?"

"I don't know Professor, but that's what he keeps saying, so I believe that that is what is happening," Hermione said while stifling a yawn.

"Alright Miss Granger, it is late. I suggest you go down to bed now," Snape told her.

"Yes Professor, I think I will. I want to be as rested as possible for the start of classes tomorrow."

Severus rolled his eyes at the studious young girl for what felt like the hundredth time as she turned and walked from the room. Suddenly Severus yawned and he realized that even an old bachelor like himself should get some sleep sometime.

* * *

As Hermione turned the first corner from Snape's office, something registered in her mind. Had he just told her to go _down _and get some sleep? The Gryffindor Tower and just about everything else in the castle was _above _the Potions Office. Unless she was imagining it, a Professor had just instructed her to go back to the Heads' Common Room and spend the night there with Draco. Well, she thought to herself, it was a lot closer and she was so tired…

* * *

Hermione woke a few hours later to find that she couldn't breathe. She tried to move and soon found that she couldn't do that either. She had walked quietly back into the Common Room earlier to find Draco still asleep on the couch. She had padded over to him and lay down on the couch in front of him without him noticing.

It would seem that at some point during the night his body had realized that she was there because his arms were firmly around her. She painfully twisted her head around to look at him and saw that he was still sleeping. She could tell that he was having a nightmare and she didn't want to wake him, but she had to get out of his grasp somehow.

Her right arm was pinned under her own body as well as his so she eliminated that as an option. She could move her legs, but she didn't want to kick him. That left only her left arm. She clenched her hand into a fist and pulled hard. Her arm slid under his about two inches. She ground her teeth together and pulled again. Damn he was strong!

Finally she got her arm free from his grasp. She drew in a gasp of air now that she had free space around her. She twisted her body around until she was facing him. His face was contorted in that, now familiar, grimace. She reached a hand out to his brow and brushed his hair off his damp forehead. She found it to be feather soft. She knew that she should get up, but she didn't want to leave his side. Hermione quickly fell asleep with her hand still touching his face.

* * *

AN: I know this chapter is _really _short and I'm sorry. It was also pretty uneventful but it did contain some important clues of what is to come. I wanted to get a chapter up before I left because I won't back home and able to write until sometime at the end of next week. I wanted to add more at the end, but there just wasn't time so it will have to wait for the next chapter.

On the other hand, to make up for this short chapter I have added a whole new story! It's called Hogwarts a History and can be found on my profile. It's also Hermione Draco, but it takes place after Hogwarts and is therefore unlike anything that I have ever written before. I have three chapters of it completed on my computer already, so you can expect an update on it pretty soon.

Please check it out and let me know what you think of it and this chapter!

Song at the beginning is 4am by Our Lady Peace.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Part 1

_I'm not for sale but I've been sold  
The more I hear the less I know  
The lies are swallowed whole  
In their insignificance  
The story's been told a million times, but it's different when it's your life  
I won the lottery tonight, the lottery tonight_

I'm not dying  
All you did was save my life  
Pulled me out of that flat line  
Put the heartbeat back inside  
I'm not dying  
All you did was get me through, I owe every breath to you  
Heart and soul unparalyzed, all you did was save my life

The next morning Draco woke up slowly. He blinked his eyes a few times and squinted into the bright morning light. He turned his head and felt something soft brushing against his face. It almost felt like…hair? He opened his eyes fully and found Hermione curled into him, still sound asleep. He tried to remember the night before, he was positive that he would remember Hermione falling asleep beside him, but he didn't.

"G'morning," Hermione's muffled voice finally pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hermione what-"

"What time is it?" she screeched, bolting upwards.

"Too early for noise like that," Draco grumbled, rubbing his temples.

"Sorry Draco, but we're going to be late for Charms!" she was standing now, brushing off her robes. "There's no time to go to our dormitories to change. We have to go right now!"

"What's the rush, we're Head Boy and Girl, shouldn't we be allowed to break the rules every once in a while?"

"No!" she glared at him. "We should be setting an example, and it's the second day of school!"

"Alright," Draco sighed, swinging his long legs off of the soft couch.

A few minutes later Hermione was racing down the corridor towards the Charms classroom, dragging a half-asleep Draco along behind her.

*

Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Ron and Harry were just leaving breakfast to head to Charms themselves.

"Strange that Hermione didn't come to breakfast this morning, isn't it?" Ron asked Harry.

"Yeah, especially on the second day of school. It's not like her to sleep in, maybe she's already up there asking about this year's assignments," Harry joked.

"Maybe," Ron smiled. "We'd better hurry ourselves though or we're going to be late."

They were about halfway there when Ron was knocked into from behind causing him to run in to Harry who had been walking just ahead of him.

"What?" he said, glancing around in confusion to see who had hit him.

"Hermione?" Harry said incredulously.

"Malfoy?" Ron spat viciously.

"What are you two doing?" Harry narrowed his eyes on their clasped hands.

"It…It's not…It's not what it looks like!" Hermione sputtered.

"Is that so? It looks like you two spent the night together and are running so as not to be late for class," Ron was turning bright red now.

"Yeah, Hermione, tell us what's really going on. We don't see you for the whole summer, we come back and you're acting weird. Now you're running around the halls with Malfoy after missing breakfast?" Harry said glaring over at the still silent Draco.

"We really don't have time to discuss this right now!" Hermione yelled at them. "We're going to be late for class on the second day of school!"

"No, we know what's going on Hermione! It all makes sense now!" Ron yelled. "Ginny knew didn't she? That's what she wanted to tell us!"

Hermione could see the look of pain cross Draco's face. Harry and Ron had their backs to him so they couldn't see his grimace. Hermione turned her back on her two friends and continued in the direction of the Charms room.

"Come on! We can argue later!" she said, running down the hall.

Her two friends looked at each other and shrugged before following along behind her. Draco clenched his hands and fell into step behind the three best friends.

They made it into the classroom just as Professor Flitwick was walking to the front of the room. He stood perched on top of a large stack of books, waving his arms to get the students to sit in their desks. Hermione, Ron and Harry hurried to their usual seats while Draco took a seat a few rows behind them.

"Hermione, what is going on? Harry hissed at her.

"Shh! Class is started," Professor Flitwick called to them.

Hermione glared at the two of them and pulled out her Charms textbook. It already had bookmarks hanging out of it in the places that she had marked while doing her pre-term studying. She turned her attention to Professor Flitwick's lesson.

"Memory Charms," he wrote on the board. "Who can tell me something about memory charms? Anyway, we did do some basic work last year after all."

Hermione was about to raise her hand when Ron interrupted her train of thought.

"Hermione, what is going on with you and Malfoy?"

Professor Flitwick said "Mr. Weasley can you tell me something about memory charms?" at the exact moment that Hermione blurted "We're in love alright!"

*

Across the room, Draco was doing his best to keep the look of pain off of his face. He could tell already from the throbbing in his temples that this headache was going to one of the really bad ones. He heard a slight crack and realized that his hands were gripping the edge of his desk. He had cracked the wood. He quickly pulled his hands from the edge and curled his hands into fists.

He was beginning to have trouble focusing on the room around him. Black spots were clouding over his eyes. He could see figures darting back and forth across the room, slithering across the walls and ceiling, hiding under the desks. Figures that he knew weren't really there.

The Gryffindor girl beside him looked and him and gasped. She pointed at his hands and muttered something about blood. What? Draco thought, he wasn't bleeding. His hands felt hot, but he wasn't bleeding. He turned his head to look at his hands, but found that he could no longer see at all. He felt himself crumpling down, out of his chair and onto the floor. After that he felt nothing at all.

*

Hermione was on her feet and rushing across the room before she could even register what she was doing. She could hear Professor Flitwick tittering beside her but she couldn't make out what he was saying. It was as though his voice was coming to her through a long tunnel. She couldn't concentrate on anything but Draco's still form in front of her.

Why was he so still? She wondered. Every time he had passed out before he had been all but writhing in pain. Now there was nothing, not even a grimace on his face. She looked at his hands, now limp at his sides. There was blood running across his palms and down to his wrists where his fingernails had dug into the soft flesh.

"Make way!" Professor Flitwick said and Hermione turned to see a crowd of students stepping aside to make a pathway for the tiny Professor. He pointed his wand at Draco's crumpled form and he lifted a few feet off the ground. Flitwick began moving as quickly as his short legs would carry him, Hermione right on his heels.

Halfway to the hospital wing Hermione realized that she wasn't doing anything to help. She looked at Draco and quickly tore her gaze away. There was nothing she _could_ do, not here anyway. She stole one last glance at the Professor and the silently floating Draco before turning and running the other way without another thought.

The halls were empty since everyone was in class. The silence was eerie, the only sound was made by her shoes slamming onto the floor. She found herself, almost too quickly, standing in front of the Potions classroom. After running all the way down here she found herself just standing there in front of the door, breathing quickly. Finally she raised her hand to push open the heavy wooden door.

*

Meanwhile, back in the Charms room all of the students still stood in shock. Every once in a while a few quiet murmurings would run through the room.

"I noticed he looked sick but…"

"I just looked over and there he was, falling on the floor!"

"Malfoy deserves whatever he gets! He's a traitor!"

Harry and Ron stood silently, listening to the voices around them. No one was really sure what they should be doing, they hadn't been told to stay in the classroom, but class had not been officially dismissed either.

When it had first happened and Hermione had first run out of the room, Ron almost went after her. He stuck his head out into the hall but Hermione and Flitwick had already rounded the corner. So now he found himself standing around in shock with the rest of the students. He had no feelings, save hate, for Malfoy, but he still wondered what was happening to him and how it involved Hermione.

"What do you think is going on?" Harry interrupted his train of thought.

"I dunno, something weird is definitely going on. You think this has something to do with Hermione being with Malfoy this morning?"

"I don't really see how, but I guess maybe it could explain something," Harry answered slowly.

"Well, there has to be some reason that Hermione would be spending time with Malfoy. She hates him as much as we do!"

"Yeah, I thought so too," Harry said, staring into the doorway that Hermione had run through after Malfoy. "I thought so too."

*

Hermione pushed herself into the Potions classroom and found herself facing a room full of very startled first years. Well, she hadn't been expecting that. For some reason, in her rush, she had forgotten that there would be a class down here. She flushed and thought of how this must look. It's the middle of their first official day of class and the Head Girl comes banging into the room out of breath and looking a mess.

"Miss Granger," drawled Snape's dry voice. "I assume you have a reason for disturbing my classroom?"

"I'm so sorry Professor I didn't think-" she started.

"Didn't think what? That I would be teaching anything down here? You think that I sit around all day waiting for students to come to me with there little problems? What didn't you think?"

"I'm sorry Professor, I wasn't thinking at all. You're needed down in the hospital wing, right away!"

Snape looked her in the eye. She tried to send a message to him that she desperately needed his help. Draco desperately needed his help. He stood up from behind his desk and turned to his class.

"Read the first chapter of your text and answer the following questions," he slapped a hand in front of the chalk board. "I will be back as soon as possible, do not leave this room until someone comes here to dismiss you."

The first years stared at him wide-eyed.

"Get to work!" he barked.

Severus Snape then turned on his heel and stalked from the room, robes billowing out behind him.

*

"Professor I'm so sorry!" Hermione said when he was in the hall. "I really didn't think, it's just I didn't know what else to do!"

"Miss Granger, just tell me what happened," Snape said, starting down the hall towards the stairs.

Hermione rushed to keep up with the long-legged Professor. "Draco collapsed in class," she said finally.

"Was he in a lot of pain?"

"It didn't look like it Sir. In fact, quite the opposite, he looked relaxed. That's good right?"

Snape just gave her a cool glance.

"It's not?"

Snape picked up his pace.

*

By lunch time everyone had heard what happened in the Charms classroom that morning. Professor Dumbledore himself had gone up to the Charms room to tell the seventh year students to go back to their dorm rooms until lunch time. The poor startled first years of Professor Snape's first period class were not relieved until Professor McGonagall walked past the open door and saw them all hunched over their books halfway through third period. They were glad to be set free and none of them were looking forward to Snape's class the next day.

Harry and Ron spent the remainder of the morning sitting in the Common Room. It was only the first day of class which meant there was no homework yet. This simple fact sent the rumour mill running wild. By lunchtime students were saying that a seventh year student had been whisked out of classroom by Voldemort himself.

Hermione did not return to the Common Room before lunch. Harry and Ron waited around in front of the fire until all of the other Gryffindors went down to the Great Hall. Finally, after Ron's stomach grumbled for the sixth time, Harry suggested they go down to lunch.

"Maybe she's been in the Head's Common Room and she's already waiting for us downstairs."

"Maybe," Ron said, perking up.

When they got down there they found Ginny, and not Hermione, sitting waiting for them. She looked annoyed and tapped her fingers on the table as they sat down on the bench across from her.

"Where have you two been?" she sat, sounding exasperated. "I've been waiting down here forever for you!"

"Erm, we were in the Common Room," Ron said, looking slightly uncomfortable with the angry look on his sister's face.

"Where's Hermione?" she asked.

"You didn't hear?" Harry asked.

"Hear what?"

"She went down to the hospital wing after Malfoy collapsed and hasn't come back up since."

"Of course she did," Ginny mumbled. "Look you guys, there's something I have to tell you. I was going to let Hermione tell you herself, but it looks like she's not going too…"

*

Hermione sat on the outside of the white curtain of Draco's hospital cubicle. She wished that she could be in there as well, but she had been ushered out and didn't want to be in anyone's way. It was just so frustrating! All of these nights of research and she could still do absolutely nothing! She wanted nothing more than for Draco to just wake up and be alright again, alright as he had been before he came to stay with her.

She didn't want to dwell on those thoughts. She started to think back to the hurried conversation that she had had with Snape while the two of them had been rushing down the hospital wing.

*

"I don't think we should tell them anything just yet," he had said.

"What? Don't you think that Madam Pomfrey might be able to do something to help?" Hermione had asked him, shocked that he didn't want Draco to have all of the help that he could get.

"I'm not sure that she can and I'm not sure who we can trust right now. We just need a little more time."

"Draco might not have more time! We've been trying at this for months now and we're not any closer to finding a cure than we were when all of this started!" Hermione had practically shouted at him.

"On the contrary, I think we are right on the verge of figuring all of this out. The wheels are turning the right way in your head, I can feel it."

*

Hermione wished that she had as much faith as he did, but she still didn't feel any closer to figuring it out that she did before. She leaned back, closing her eyes and began to think through all of the research that she had done in the past few months.

It was so useless! She had barely even been able to find any studies or articles that related to Draco's problem at all, let alone any that had been conclusive or helpful. On top of that, the only theory that they had had been proved relatively ineffective.

Thinking about Snape's theory brought back memories of that night in the woods when they had first returned to Hogwarts. Hermione wanted to cry just thinking about it. It seemed like it had been so long ago, much more than just two weeks. Would they ever be like that again? Would Draco ever wake up again?

Hermione could still perfectly picture the look on Draco's face that night when they had finally pulled away from each other. It was a look of peace mixed with shock over his lack of pain.

Hermione rubbed her temples as she thought of that look. Snape was right, there was something there. She could feel a thought sitting on the surface of her mind and she knew that it was important. The only problem was, she couldn't reach into her mind to fully grasp it.

*

"So let me get this straight," said a red-faced Ron. "You knew about this, all this time, and you never told us?"

"Yes Ron, I've known since the beginning. I didn't know something like this was going to happen. I was there when the attack happened though."

"So you're sure that there was actually an attack?" Harry asked. "It wasn't just Malfoy pretending to try and lure Hermione in?"

"No, he was definitely attacked. It was like a seizure and then he just collapsed into unconsciousness. No, it definitely wasn't some kind of ploy."

"And the two of them are like together now?" Ron said with an undisguised look of disgust on his face.

"It looks like it," Ginny sighed. "But I really don't know for sure. When I was there I think that he really was just staying with her out of convenience."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see then," Harry said quietly.

*

Hermione was still leaning back against the wall when Snape found her. At first he didn't want to say anything to her because he thought she was sleeping. Slowly she lifted her eyes and focused on him.

"How is he?" She asked him.

"The same. Madam Pomfrey is hoping that he pulls out of this soon. Spending too much time in a coma with an unknown cause can give him brain damage. It could cause a loss of motor skills or memory loss."

Suddenly something exploded across Hermione's brain. She could fully grasp that fluttering thought now! All of came together all at once in her mind and it all made sense. She felt a grin stretching across her face and couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. It had all been so simple!

"What?" Snape asked, seeing her smile. "What is it?"

"I figured it out," she said with a gleam in her eye.

*

AN:

So that's it for now. Don't worry though, there's only one more chapter! I am going to work my ass off to get that chapter to you guys before the end of October because I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year and I want to be able to devote November to that fully.

If anyone is interested, I will be posting my novel on my blog (a new entry each day) for the full month of November. The link is on my profile.

I'm so sorry that I didn't add anything all summer! I moved and was without my personal computer for about three months.

So yeah, hopefully you guys liked this chapter, things are starting to come to a close now. There is just one short chapter left.

Oh, also, I got engaged last month! How exciting is that? 

Please leave me a review to let me know what you think of the chapter.

Song at the beginning is All You Did Was Save My Life by Our Lady Peace (it is an AMAZING song!)

One more thing, I apologize in advance for any typos in this chapter, it is completely unedited because I really just wanted to post it up tonight.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13 – Part 2

_I started to come around, the dogs are backing down  
I'm not afraid to see, the devil's gone underground  
This tightropes been cut down, and I can finally breathe  
You, looked at me as you walked in the room  
Like the red sea you split me open  
Somehow I knew these wings were stolen_

I'm not dying  
All you did was save my life  
Pulled me out of that flat line,  
put the heartbeat back inside  
I'm not dying

All you did was get me through, I owe every breath to you  
Heart and soul unparalyzed, all you did was save my life

*

Professor Snape just stared at her dumbfounded. It really couldn't be that simply.

"A memory charm?" he asked skeptically.

"A memory charm! Professor, remember how I told you that Draco had said that he had simply 'forgotten' the pain? What if he did? This attack that Voldemort sent was a group of images that were placed in his head. The images are designed to drive him crazy with nightmares and visions of things that weren't there. What if he forgot what these images were? They wouldn't have any power of him anymore!"

"I guess it could work…It's certainly worth a chance," Snape said under his breath.

"It will work Professor! You were right, it was so simple all along. I was trying so hard to find some complex cure that I missed what was right in front of me. I missed what Draco himself was saying," she finished quietly.

"Come now Miss Granger, let's hope it isn't already too late," Snape said leading her behind the curtain.

*

"I'm sick of waiting around," Ron grumbled later that afternoon. The two boys had only one class after lunch before having a free period. It was that time now and they sat in the library, they had thought that maybe Hermione would be there.

"Well, she's obviously not hanging around in the school somewhere. If she's not in class or in the library she must be down at the hospital wing with Malfoy," Harry told him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We might as well just get it over with then and go down and see her."

*

Hermione stood completely still at the side of Draco's bed. Madam Pomfrey hadn't been able to figure out was with wrong with him. She had announced that he was in a stable condition for now and that he would hopefully awaken when his body and mind were more rested. Snape had managed to get Hermione in to see him alone. Madam Pomfrey said that she would be given no more than a few moments with him.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Snape asked. "You've covered memory charms in class?"

"We just did the basics last year in Charms," she told him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" Snape asked.

"No, it has to be me, he's told me what the visions look like, I know what to focus on getting rid of," Hermione said, he brow furrowed in concentration.

"Alright, if you're sure," the dark professor said, finally falling silent beside her.

Hermione stood staring at Draco for what seemed like an eternity. Finally she whispered a prayer to herself and raised her wand from her side to his temple. She lifted her left hand to the edge of the bed and grasped Draco's motionless hand firmly. She bowed her head over him so that her long hair nearly brushed his white locks. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then closed her eyes.

Severus noticed that moment that he lips were moving but he could not hear any words. He realized that he had no idea how long they had already been in the room or how long this would take. He didn't want Madam Pomfrey to come in and interrupt them, but he also didn't want to disrupt Hermione's magic by using his own to seal the space.

Severus took a step back from Draco's bedside, knowing what he had to do. He had to trust his God-son's life with Hermione Granger now. He claimed one last look at the pair before turning from the room to give them the privacy that they desperately needed.

*

When Harry and Ron reached the hospital wing they were quickly stopped by Professor Snape.

"You can't go in there right now," he said quietly.

If Harry wasn't mistaken he thought the man looked rather upset.

"Professor we need to speak to Hermione urgently," Harry said to him.

"It will have to wait a little longer Potter, she is incapacitated right now."

"Incapacitated?" Ron sputtered. "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she is busy with more important matters that-" Snape was cut off by the sound of the door opening. All three men turned to see Hermione come flying out of the room.

"It worked! It really worked!" she looked as if she might throw her arms around the Potions Master before she noticed her two best friends standing in front of her. "Harry, Ron," she said slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"We were going to ask you the same thing Hermione," Harry said quietly.

"I really want to explain everything to you guys, but we really can't do it here," she said. "We need to go somewhere private. Maybe the Head's Common Room?"

A few minutes later the four of them were there. Snape had wanted to stay in the hospital wing with Draco, but Hermione insisted that he join them. She told him that while Draco was still unconscious for the moment, she was sure it was just due to exhaustion and not due to anything that was wrong in his mind.

And so Hermione sat, with her least favourite teacher and her two best friends and told them everything that had happened to her over the months that they were away. They already knew some of it, but she filled in the many gaps that Ginny's story had left.

"What were you thinking Hermione? Letting him into your apartment in the first place?" Ron asked when she was finished.

"I wasn't thinking, I was quite incapacitated," she said with a small smile. "But seriously Ron, afterwards, I was thinking that everyone deserved a second chance. I gave him the benefit of the doubt."

"How did you figure out that the cure was a memory charm?" Harry asked, he had remained silent through her whole explanation and she was grateful for it.

"I didn't really. Draco told me himself, he forgot the pain when we were kissing, he couldn't think about the curse and the images it had given him, so he couldn't feel the pain. Then this morning, in Charms, Professor Flitwick was talking about memory charms, I guess it just triggered something in my head."

"I still can't believe that in the end it was really something so truly simply," Snape mused.

"Hey, you were the one that thought that love was the cure!" Hermione said laughing.

"What? Love!" Ron blurted. "Hermione you can't seriously be falling in love with that git!"

"I don't know Ron, but I really think I might be," she said.

*

Later on that night Hermione crept down to the hospital wing. She was supposed to be completing the rounds by herself until Draco was up and well enough to help her. Since the original rumours that morning, everything had been kept pretty quiet. The only people that knew what happened were herself, Harry, Ron, Snape and Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey didn't even really know what was going on. The five of them had decided collectively to keep it that way for the time being, you really couldn't ever know who it was safe to trust.

She pulled back the curtain of Draco's cubicle and was startled to find him awake and sitting up in bed. He looked so good that she wanted to burst into tears. He had so much colour in his face that it wasn't even comparable to how he had looked that morning. Most importantly there was a smile on his face as he caught sight of her.

"Oh, you're really alright!" Hermione said running to throw her arms around him.

"You did it Hermione," Draco said stroking her hair. "I knew you could."

"Do you remember at all?" she asked.

"I remember everything, just not the terrible images. You did a perfect job."

"I'm so glad," she said beaming. "Everyone will be so pleased to know that you're alright. You should hear the rumours. You scared a lot of the students today. Also, I think I traumatized a group of first years today, but I'll tell you about that later. I'm just so glad that you're alright."

"I'm not sure that everything is alright Hermione," Draco said.

"What do you mean? You just said-"

"I know what I said, and I'm fine. I'm fine for now. What happens when Voldemort realizes that you've cured me? What happens when he realizes that you know how to cure his most powerful affliction? What then?" Draco asked her.

"There could be a way," Draco could practically see her brain working, "but only if you truly want a new start."

"I do," Draco said leaning forward to press his lips to hers. "As long as you're in it."

*

The next morning the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were shocked by the Headline of that day's Daily Profit.

**Death Eater's Traitorous Son Killed by Freak Attack from Dark Lord**

An attack on Lucius Malfoy's son Draco led to months of nightmares and crippling pain before finally ending his life yesterday afternoon. "He was plagued by visions and terrible headaches" says Head Girl and girlfriend Hermione Granger "I was doing my best to cure him, but it was just no good." The girl was in tears during the entire interview. "He collapsed in my classroom," says Professor Flitwick of Hogwarts "I thought he was having a seizure."

No one realized it, but when young Draco crumpled in his Charms classroom that morning that would be the last time any of his classmates saw him alive. He slipped into a coma and died a few hours later in the school's hospital wing.

This short article was followed by an obituary written by Lucius Malfoy, most of which was spent denying his own loyalties to the Dark Lord, and a small picture of Draco flying around the Quidditch Pitch. Hermione ate her food in silence while listening to the other students murmurings; some of them were even crying she noticed.

She looked up from her breakfast to catch Harry's eye. She looked beside him at Ron who was looking up from the article with a startled look on his face. She winked at him and went back to her breakfast.

*

That same day Draco Malfoy really was flying as he was in that picture. He had never felt as free in his life as he did at that moment. When he finally reached his destination he didn't want to get off of his broom. He felt like he could spend the rest of his life flying. He reached into his pocket to find his brand new key. As he turned the lock on the door or Hermione Granger's flat he smiled to himself. This was truly the first day of the rest of his life.

*

AN: so that's the end! It took me almost two years, but here it is! I really hope that you all enjoyed it. That is if anyone is still reading!

It feels strange to finish a story, this is the first one that I've actually completed since Scars of the Black Rose. I love this story and I love where it ended up.

What's next? Well, I would like to get back to Hogwarts a History, maybe in December. The whole month of November is going to be devoted to the writing of my NaNoWriMo novel which you can all read everyday on my blog (link on my profile) if you want to.

Thank you all so much for sticking by me through months of no updates. I hope it was worth it for you in the end! It was for me.

Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of this last chapter, especially the ending.


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